The musicians of the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra never stop improving their skills. As was already announced in the News, at the turn of February and March, the double bass section of the Orchestra had the opportunity to work under the direction of Ruslan Lutsyk, and three weeks later (21–28th of March), there was another important workshop with the participation of musicians from the brass section, as well as the entire orchestra.
Working with musicians who play trumpets, trombones and tubas was Krzysztof Bednarczyk. He is the first trumpeter and soloist of the National Philharmonic Orchestra, with which he has been associated since 1984, member of the Brass Instruments Quintet, with which he has be involved in intensive artistic and recording work. He works as a teacher and has been a trumpet instructor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw since 1995. The French horn group had the opportunity to work under the direction of Jacek Muzyk, currently a soloist at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Already during his studies, the artist became the first French horn player of Capella Cracoviensis, and later worked with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, as well as the Wojciech Rajski Polish Chamber Orchestra in Gdańsk. He continued his studies at the famous Juilliard School of Music in New York. He works with the most renowned orchestras (including big-band orchestras) in Poland and abroad, and is also a respected educator. The course material consisted of parts from famous symphonies: Gustav Mahler’s First, Karol Szymanowski’s Second and Witold Lutosławski’s Third.
Although from a layman’s point of view, orchestral work may seem completely safe and nothing but pleasant, it does carry some health risks, especially of the orthopaedic type, related to the posture of the body during work, which is not always optimal and involves only selected groups of muscles. It is therefore extremely important to be able to compensate for these risks, including through appropriate exercises before playing, during breaks, as well as after rehearsals, both at home and on the road. It is also important to ensure that the playing area is ergonomically sound. Workshops for the entire orchestra, conducted by Jadwiga Śmieszchalska, were devoted to all these issues. The experienced coach, graduate of the Poznań Academy of Music (organ) and the French Institute Medecine des Arts, is currently an instructor of Physiology of Music at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music and the co-creator of the Warsaw musician health studio Healthy Talent.