Maria Shetty

At every stage of my musical journey, the teachers and mentors I encountered have had a lasting influence on me.

My journey began with Urszula Chajdecka, followed by Romana Doniec-Krzemień and the ensemble “Promyki Krakowa”. Two particularly important mentors were the late Professor Janusz Pisarski and Professor Wolfgang Klos, whose classes at the Academy of Music in Kraków and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien marked important stages in my development.

I also had the opportunity to further my musical education through the European Chamber Music Academy, working with Hatto Beyerle, Johannes Meissl and Avedis Kouyoumdjian, as well as members of the Apollon Musagète Quartett and the Tokyo String Quartet,

I have been associated with the Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków since 2016, and since 2021 I have run my own viola class.

For me, teaching is not simply about passing on knowledge and experience. It is also about building a relationship and learning from one another. Every student brings their own sensitivity and personality, as well as new questions and challenges. In this sense, teaching is also a source of my own development.

I share with my students what I myself received from my teachers and mentors, as well as the experience I have gained through performing and my artistic work. Technique and craftsmanship are important to me, but always in the service of expression, alongside inspiration, growth, finding one’s own musical voice and developing the imagination.

Alongside my artistic work, I am also engaged in academic research. In 2015, I was awarded a doctorate in the arts for my research on Paul Hindemith’s viola sonatas. In 2025, I was awarded title of Professor of Arts. I write, conduct research, organise conferences and explore ways of bringing music, theory and performance practice together.

From 2011 to 2025, I was a violist with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. It was a period of intensive work, rich musical experience and encounters with outstanding artists. I had the privilege of performing under conductors including Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Cristian Măcelaru, Manfred Honeck, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Lawrence Foster, Domingo Hindoyan and Christian Arming.

Working in an orchestra taught me, above all, how to listen: to myself, to those around me and to the sound we create together. It also taught me responsibility, adaptability and an openness to different musical perspectives.

The recording studio is a demanding environment. There is none of the energy of a live audience or the fleeting quality of a concert. Recording teaches me to listen closely and to pay attention to the smallest details of an interpretation.

I have recorded more than a dozen albums, both with Messages Quartet and with other artists. The album “HINDEMITH”, recorded with Monika Wilińska-Tarcholik, holds a particularly special place for me, bringing together two important areas of my work: artistic practice and academic research.

For me, a recording is more than a way of preserving music. It is a record of an encounter with a composer, a work and another musician. Each album captures a particular moment in my artistic journey, one I can return to years later.