Maria Shetty

Maria Shetty – graduated with honors from the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow under the guidance of Prof. Janusz Pisarski. She pursued postgraduate studies at the University für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with Prof. Wolfgang Klos. Additionally, she honed her skills at the esteemed European Chamber Music Academy and participated in masterclasses led by notable musicians and ensembles, including H. Beyerle, J. Meissl, A. Kouyoumdjian, Apollon Musagete Quartet, and Tokyo String Quartet. In 2015, Maria earned her Doctor of Arts title, focusing on her doctoral dissertation about Paul Hindemith’s compositions for the viola. A year later she became a part of the Department of Violin and Viola at The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Krakow. In 2021, she attained the title of Habilitated Doctor of Arts.

Since 2011, Maria has been a violist at the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. She has collaborated with various Polish orchestras, such as Sinfonietta Cracovia and Capella Cracoviensis. Maria has achieved recognition in national and international competitions, securing awards like the Second Prize and Special Prize for Interpretation of Shostakovich’s Music at the International Chamber Music Competition in Plovdiv and the Second Prize and Special Prize Baerenreiter Urtext Preis at the Charles Hennen Concours in Holland.

Maria has received scholarships from programs like “Young Poland,” the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Republic of Poland, Scientific Scholarship of the City of Krakow, the European Chamber Music Academy, Pacific Music Festival in Japan, and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. As a chamber musician, she regularly performs in various formations and participates in NOSPR Chamber Series.

Co-founding the Messages Quartet in 2014, specializing in Polish chamber music, Maria contributed to the debut album released by DUX recording company, featuring string quartets by Szymon Laks. The quartet’s second album, “Messages,” with compositions by A. Panufnik, S. Moniuszko, and K. Penderecki, gained acclaim. Another recording, “Bacewicz/Tansman – Piano Quintets,” by the Messages Quartet. Maria has also collaborated on the album “Karolina Stalmachowska and Friends – Jean Francaix – Musique pour Plaisir.” Maria also recorded for such publishing houses as Acte Prealable and Chopin University Press.

As a habilitated doctor, she leads her own viola class since 2021. Maria actively engages in teaching and has conducted music courses in Poland and abroad, including Brazil and Austria. Annually, she is invited to lead the viola class at the Małopolska Academy of Talents and the Międzynarodowy Kurs Interpretacji Muzycznej w Nowym Sączu.