Boys' Choir of the Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in Cracow was founded in 1951 as an initiative of Józef Suwara – a pedagogue, musician and music aficionado. At the beginning the choir gathered about 70 boys of various age. The repertoire included a cappella pieces and oratorios, mostly by Polish composers. After Suwara’s death in 1967, the choir was lead for next 28 years by his assistant, Bronisława Wietrzny. During this period the ensemble specialized in performing new masterpieces of Krzysztof Penderecki (Lucas Passion, Matins, Magnificat), performing concerts in many European countries, as well as in Lebanon and Syria. The recording of Lucas Passion was awarded with Grand Prix du Disque. In 1991-1993 the Boys' Choir was conducted by Stanisław Krawczyński, and since 1993 – by Lidia Matynian, the deputy rector of the Academy of Music in Cracow.
Besides Penderecki’s masterpieces, the choir’s repertoire includes pieces like Credo (1st European performance in 1998), Benedictus for boys choir a  cappella (1st performance in 2003) and great vocal and instrumental masterpieces: J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, G.F. Haendel’s Judas Maccabeus, G. Mahler’s Symphony no. 3, C. Orff’s Carmina Burana, B. Britten’s Spring Symphony, A ceremony of carols, G. Holst’s Planets, A. Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher. The choir performed for the first time works of composers bound with Cracow: Henryk Jan Botor, Wojciech Widłak and Paweł Moszumański. The choir co-operates with Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir on a permanent basis, performing also with the National Philharmonic Orchestra in Warsaw, Sinfonia Varsovia, Capella Cracoviensis, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, Tarnów Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra and Choir of the Academy of Music in Cracow.
In 2002-2008 the choir participated in operas: La Boheme and Tosca by G. Puccini, Macbeth by G. Verdi and Hansel and Gretel by E. Humperdinck. The choir took part in several Polish festivals: Polish Music Festival, Organ Music Days, Vratislavia Cantans, Warsaw Autumn, Music in Old Cracow; and abroad, in England, Austria, Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Iran, Lebanon, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Italy. In the framework of one of the Kraków 2000 Festival projects, the choir performed the famous medieval masterpiece found in Spain: Codex Calixtinus.
For many years, the Cracow Philharmonic Boys' Choir has collaborated with artists of Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret: Jacek Wójcicki, Grzegorz Turnau, Beata Rybotycka and Zbigniew Preisner. The choir recorded a soundtrack composed by Zbigniew Preisner to Agnieszka Holland’s movie Secret Garden, participated in the 1st performance of Requiem for my friend by Z. Preisner at the Grand Theatre in Warsaw and recorded Preisner’s carols.
The choir took part in an open-air Farewell Concert for John Paul II in Cracow, and on the occasion of the first anniversary of his death, the choir participated
in the first performance of Joachim Mencel’s jazz cantata to Karol Wojtyła’s poetry Love explained it all (Miłość mi wszystko wyjaśniła).
The choir has supported the great Polish charity event, Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy, by participating in jazz concerts.

Conductor-Choirmaster

Lidia MATYNIAN – choirmaster, graduate of the Academy of Music in Krakow, professor of musical arts. Since 1984, she has been in charge of the Academy’s choral conducting class. In the years 1999–2019, she held the positions of deputy dean, dean and deputy rector for student affairs, and she headed the Institute of Choral Conducting, Musical Education and Eurhythmics.

She has collaborated with the student choir of the Academy for nearly 30 years, giving concerts and preparing parts of vocal and instrumental works to be performed. The ensemble has appeared in workshop concerts of the Bachakademie from Stuttgart under the baton of H. Rilling, dedicated to the works of J.S. Bach, A.  Dvořák, G.F. Haendel and K. Penderecki, and in numerous editions of the Ada Sari International Vocal Artistry Competition as well as during the Organ Music Days.  

In 1993, Lidia Matynian was appointed conductor of the Krakow Philharmonic Boys’ Choir. The ensemble performs in Poland and abroad (Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia). Their repertoire includes all major international vocal and instrumental works. The choir was involved in the premiere performance of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Credo and Benedictus, Wojciech Widłak’s Psalms for Small and Big Children, and Joachim Mencel’s jazz cantata Love has Explained Everything to Me.

As part of their cooperation with the Krakow Opera, the choir musicians have appeared in the productions of the operas Tosca, La Boheme, and Hansel and Gretel.

The ensemble has performed with numerous orchestras, including Sinfonia Varsovia and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as with other choral ensembles. They have been involved in archival recordings, including recordings of film music, e.g. for Zbigniew Preisner’s film The Secret Garden.
Lidia Matynian is the initiator and organizer of choral education projects that gather university students, school pupils and choirs of the “Singing Poland.”
She has been awarded with the Gold Cross of Merit, honorary medal of Merit for Polish Culture, and silver medal for Merit to Culture-Gloria Artis.

BOYS' CHOIR:

Leon Bertman
Stefan Bertman
Tadeusz Cepuch
Iwo Dulian
Tymoteusz Hebda
Franciszek Jaworski
Sebastian Kania
Piotr Kasprzycki
Radzim  Kołoczek
Justyna Kozłowska
Szymon Kozłowski
Zuzanna Kozłowska
Jakub Krajanowski
Juliusz  Krauzowicz-Stępień 
Debora Lejmel
Franciszka Lejmel
Rachela Lejmel
Zofia Lenczowska
Urszula Martos Sanchez
Hubert Nalewajko
Wojciech Płuska
Jakub Rzepecki
Małgorzata Samek
Szymon Skorupa
Franciszek Strączek
Piotr Stróżyński
Leo Suszczyński-Rodriqez
Franciszek Ślaskowicz
Bruno Urbański
Wojciech Wais
Izabela Wdowiarz-Bilska
Ignacy Zabłocki
Karolina Zegan
Anna Zubel
Piotr Zubel

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Marię Dziedzic-Król

ACCOMPANIST
Magdalena Żak de Carvalho