• The rising star spent years training as a professional athlete before committing to music

• Gardolińska tours throughout the South West with the BSO this autumn

Award-winning Polish conductor Marta Gardolińska has been wowing audiences since she joined the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra in September 2018. She embarks on her second year as the BSO’s Young Conductor in Association this autumn with a tour of the region.

Gardolińska is one to watch: she was recently announced as a Gustavo Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and, among her many accolades, she has won prizes at the Witold Lutosławski and Felix Mendelssohn conducting competitions. She also conducts the prestigious closing performance of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra on 26 August.

“…it all blazed gloriously though and left in no doubt that Gardolińska is a highly promising and exciting conductor” Classical Source

With an equal passion for both music and sport, Gardolińska brings a fresh approach to the podium. Before committing to life as a musician, she spent several years professionally training in acrobatics, swimming, and middle-distance running, while at the same time studying flute and piano.

“I am very much looking forward to exploring more wonderful music with the BSO and our audiences as I enter my second year as the Young Conductor in Association. I also look forward to making the most of the beautiful South West, in order to stay in good physical and mental shape ahead of the new challenges and a busy schedule!” 
Marta Gardolińska, BSO Young Conductor in Association

Marta follows an illustrious line of exceptional BSO conducting talent, including Marin Alsop who was the first female principal conductor of a major UK orchestra. Alsop is a mentor to Gardolińska, as is current Chief Conductor, Kirill Karabits, who marks his 11th season with the BSO this year.

Last season Gardolińska performed nearly 30 concerts with the BSO, including stepping in last-minute for a main-season performance to critical acclaim. This year, Gardolińska conducts BSO performances across the region, working with soloists including Leonard Elschenbroich [7, 8, 9 Nov] and Soraya Mafi [1-11 Jan].

Alongside her concert performances, Gardolińska continues a series of BSO outreach work across the Orchestra’s region of 10,000 square miles. This includes conducting the BSO’s Schools’ Concerts, which are enjoyed by over 23,000 schoolchildren in the concert hall and via livestream.

Dougie Scarfe, Chief Executive of the BSO, said “We’re thrilled to continue working with Marta Gardolińska as she enters her second year as the BSO’s Young Conductor in Association. During her first outstanding year with the Orchestra, in which she gained international interest, Marta impressed our audiences across the South West with her emotive and collaborative style of music-making, as well as engaging with communities through her work with BSO Participate.”

Marta Gardolińska begins her second year with the BSO in September, with performances in Weymouth (12), Chichester (14), Barnstaple (19), Bradford on Avon (20), Lymington (21), Launceston (24), Yeovil (25), Exeter (26), and Bournemouth (5 Oct).

The full press release and regional press releases for Marta’s concerts are available to download above.