Mateusz Smoczynski

Mateusz Smoczyński is a distinguished Polish violinist, composer, and bandleader renowned for his versatility across various musical genres. He is a co-founder of the Atom String Quartet and New Trio, leads a quintet, and performs in a duo with cellist Stephan Braun.

Smoczyński has performed on prominent stages worldwide, both as a soloist and with diverse ensembles, collaborating with acclaimed artists such as Branford Marsalis, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Markus Stockhausen, Paquito D’Rivera, Tomasz Stańko, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Bobby McFerrin, Anna Maria Jopek, Leszek Możdżer, and the NDR Big Band. As soloist he performed with leading Polish orchestras.

In recent years, Smoczyński has made significant contributions to symphonic composition. He has written five violin concertos with orchestra, including “Adam’s Apple” (2018), “2PiX” for violin and saxophone (2021), performed with Branford Marsalis, and “Fallen Angel” (2022), dedicated to Janusz Olejniczak.

His extensive discography features over 100 albums, including a solo release and a critically acclaimed collaborative album with Joachim Kühn, “Speaking Sound” (ACT Music, 2020), recognized as one of the year's top albums by Downbeat magazine. Since 2024, he has been signed with Warner Music.

From 2012 to 2016, Smoczyński was a member of the Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet. He performed over a hundred concerts with the ensemble at major U.S. venues and appeared on Tierney Sutton’s Grammy-nominated album “After Blue.” The Turtle Island Quartet’s album “Confetti Man,” featuring Smoczyński, was honored by the National Federation of Music Clubs as the best American chamber recording of the year.

Smoczyński holds the Grand Prix from the 2nd International Zbigniew Seifert Jazz Violin Competition and has been repeatedly named Jazz Violinist of the Year by Jazz Forum magazine. A graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland where he studied under Andrzej Gębski, he has served as an Adjunct Professor of jazz and world music at his alma mater since 2017.