Anna Starzec-Makandasis

Anna Starzec-Makandasis is an Assistant Professor at the I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan, Poland, affiliated with the Institute of String Instruments. She teaches piano accompaniment and holds a qualified doctor degree in music art (2019). Her career spans solo and chamber music performance across Poland, Italy, Norway, Germany, Israel, and the USA.

• Educated at I.J. Paderewski Academy of Music (MA 2005), Oklahoma City University (MM 2010), Southern Methodist University (Artist Certificate 2012), and Stony Brook University (Doctor of Arts 2012)

Her research focuses on piano performance, chamber music interpretation, and Polish music. She has released four critically acclaimed CDs, including works by Scarlatti, Lutosławski, and Gawroński, and contributed to the publication Viola: Spectrum of Artistic Imperative (2018). Her performances include collaborations with violinist Anna Maria Staśkiewicz, violist Mariusz Murawski, and orchestras in Oklahoma and Tel Aviv.

• Recipient of multiple awards: Third Prize in Rome (2003), First Prize at OMTA (2006), Grand Prize Virtuoso in London (2016)
• Notable achievements: Lecture-recitals on Domenico Scarlatti’s sonatas (2018), performances at Felicia Blumenthal Festival (Tel Aviv), Polish Chamber Music Conference (2020)