Ewa Strusińska is a Polish-British conductor, regarded as one of the most intriguing artistic personalities of her generation. A finalist and laureate of the prestigious 2nd Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg, she was General Music Director (GMD) of the Gerhart Hauptmann Theater Görlitz-Zittau and Principal Conductor of the Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie (2018–2024). In the course of her six years’ tenure, her concert programs brought new standards and fresh ideas to this part of Germany. She attracted considerable attention outside the region with broadcasts and portraits in radio, TV and the press.
Prior to this, Maestra Strusińska held a position of Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Szczecin Philharmonic Orchestra (2013–2016), and has been internationally acclaimed as one of the principal architects of the transformation of the orchestra, leading its players to scale new artistic heights amid the sensational acoustics of the multi award winning Szczecin Philharmonic Hall.
Ewa Strusińska is the first woman to serve as Assistant Conductor for a British orchestra and the first Polish female conductor to take on such a role abroad. She held this position with the renowned The Hallé – the United Kingdom's oldest professional orchestra – from 2008 to 2010, working under the direction of Sir Mark Elder, CH, CBE. Her success was widely noted by both Polish and English media, including The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, BBC Music Magazine, and Gramophone.
Internationally, Ewa Strusińska has worked with a range of orchestras across the globe, including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, The Hallé, Bamberger Symphoniker, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Magdeburgische Philharmonie, Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, Jenaer Philharmonie, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Uppsala Chamber Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Gävle Symfoniorkester, Norrlands Opera Symphony Orchestra, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Staatskapelle Halle, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, Orquesta Filharmónica de Gran Canaria, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Sinfonietta, Jönköpings Sinfonietta, Arktisk Filharmoni, Polish National Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Polish National Opera, National Polish Radio Orchestra and Sinfonia Varsovia. She has also collaborated with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden.
Maestra Ewa Strusińska advocates for music education among young people and the development of future musicians. After winning the competition for the position of Junior Fellow in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester in 2006, she began her academic collaboration with this renowned British institution. She regularly works with the Landesjugendorchester Berlin and the South African National Youth Orchestra. She also initiated the International Lutosławski Youth Orchestra (ILYO) in Szczecin and has led numerous cross-border youth projects in the tri-border area of Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, including the Lausitzer Orchesterakademie "Young Philharmonic." Increasingly, she is invited to work with international competitions – in 2019, she conducted the BBC National Orchestra of Wales during the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and chaired the jury of the Aeolus Wind Instrument Competition in Düsseldorf. In 2023, she was a jury member at the Ferenc Fricsay International Conducting Competition.
Ewa Strusińska has built up an extensive operatic and ballet repertoire while working on performances at the Royal Swedish Opera, the Royal Danish Opera, Theater Chemnitz, Theater Magdeburg, Gerhart Hauptmann Theater Görlitz-Zittau, or Polish National Opera in Warsaw.
Her discography includes works by Moniuszko, Chopin, and Lutosławski with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra and pianist Martin Labazevitch, as well as Grażyna Bacewicz’s Symphony No. 4, recorded with Sinfonia Varsovia.
Maestra Ewa Strusińska has been given the title ‘Ambassador of Stalowa Wola’ by her home town. The accolade recognises an individual’s personal achievements in Poland and abroad.
(photo: Bartek Barczyk)
