Marianna Julia Żołnacz

1st Principal Flute

"She is one of the most outstanding and fascinating artists of the young generation. Her creations and remarkable performances are the prelude to a tremendous career. The combination of an excellent technique with musicality, sensitivity, diligence and a great love for the art of flute playing form a combination of elements that few possess."  -Paweł Gusnar, Luminary of Polish Music

Marianna Julia Żołnacz, born in Warsaw in 1999, has been studying at the Hochschule für Musik "Mozarteum" in Salzburg since 2015 in the class of Professor Michael Martin Kofler, where she began her Master's studies after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in 2020. While studying in Salzburg, she completed her master's studies at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw with the highest grade in the class of Maria Peradzyńska. At the age of 23, Marianna won the audition for the position of principal flutist with the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra.

 Marianna is a laureate of more than 50 national and international competitions, including eight Grand Prix prizes. Her achievements include: - 1st prize at the 2018 Guangzhou International Flute Competition- Guangzhou, China 2018 - 2nd prize at the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Competition - Odense, Denmark 2019 - 2x 3rd prize at the Kobe International Flute Competition - Kobe, Japan 2022 and 2017.

Marianna plays on the 14 karat gold Nagahara headjoint generously given to her by Sir James Galway.

 As a soloist, Żołnacz has performed numerous flute concerts with orchestras in Poland and abroad, including the Warsaw Philharmonic, Polish National Orchestra, Slovak State Philharmonic Kosice, Kobe Ensemble, Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic, European Arts Center in Białystok, and Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra. She has worked under the direction of many talented conductors, including Felix Mildenberger, Michał Dworzyński, Paweł Kapuła, Hiroshi Sekiya, Tadahiro Yano, Mirosław Jacek Błaszczyk, Marzena Diakun, Łukasz Borowicz, Michał Klauza, Rafał Delekta, Gergely Menesi, Mirko Krajci.