Lerche
Markowski
duo

About us

Lerche & Markowski duo is an ensemble dedicated to performing early music as well as 20th‑century music. It consists of Victoria Lerche‑Kurpas – a mezzosoprano and harpsichordist – and Jan Markowski, who plays the classical guitar, baroque guitar, lute, and theorbo. Both are students at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. Victoria and Jan are scholarship holders of the MKiDN Young Poland program, which enabled them to purchase their dream instruments. They have also been among the scholarship recipients of the National Fund for Children and were awarded the Rector’s Scholarship at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. In 2024, they were recognized by the jury of the 7th International Competition in Baroque Style, receiving the title of Artistic Personality. In addition, the musicians have won numerous awards in both solo and chamber music competitions. In 2023, the duo expanded their knowledge in historical performance practice during the Early Music Courses in Kunin. They have also performed as part of a larger ensemble, staging Monteverdi’s Il ballo delle Ingrate under the direction of Jan Čižmář. Furthermore, they performed Spanish repertoire as part of the 5th International Scientific and Artistic Guitar Conference, the 18th Promotional Festival – August of Talents ‘Symetrie’, as well as in concerts at Czech castles in Radun and Vizovice, and sacred repertoire, among others, during the Evenings of Organ and Chamber Music Festival in Tarnowskie Góry.

VICTORIA LERCHE-KURPAS

Victoria Lerche-Kurpas is a Polish mezzosoprano and harpsichordist. She is a graduate of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice in the harpsichord class of prof. Marek Pilch. In 2023, she graduated from the same Academy in the vocal class of prof. Elżbieta Grodzka-Łopuszyńska. She is also a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin General Music School in Bytom, which she completed with honors in the harpsichord class of Aleksandra Gajecka-Antosiewicz and Hanna Balcerzak.

She is a laureate of national and international harpsichord and chamber music competitions, in which she has participated as a singer with an early music ensemble. Among her most significant awards are:

Victoria’s awards

3rd prize at the VI Early Music Chamber Forum in Poznań (2024)
Diploma of Laureate of the 5th National Competition organized as part of the festival In Baroque Style, category Chamber Music (2022)
2nd prize during the online competition VI Odin International Music Competition, category Keyboard Instruments (2021)
1st prize during the International Festival-Competition Online Future Stars organized by Sopravista International Festivals, Cultural Association Cultura in Movimento, International Artistic Community Prometheus in Italy, category Keyboard Instruments (2021)
4th prize at the SWISS International Music Competition in Lugano, category Chamber Music (2021)
Grand Prize at the International Youth Music Competitions in Atlanta, USA, category Chamber Music (2021)
2nd prize at the II International Online Instrumental Performance Competition in Toronto, category Chamber Music (2021)
1st prize at the Charleston International Music Competition in Charleston, USA, category Chamber Music (2021)
1st prize at the International Competition World Art Games organized by International Art Media Contest Fiestalonia Milenio in Lloret de Mar, Spain, category Chamber Music (2021)
1st prize and 3rd prize in online voting at the International Online Festival-Contest Future Stars organized by Sopravista International Festivals, Cultural Association Cultura in Movimento, International Art Community Prometheus in Italy, category Chamber Music (2021)
2nd prize ex aequo and two concert prizes at the 1st E. Chojnacka Harpsichord Competition, category Harpsichord Solo in Rybna (2019)
2nd prize at the VII International Wanda Landowska Harpsichord Competition in Ruvo di Puglia, category Duo (2019)
1st prize at the 3rd International Contemporary Music Competition Prix Annelie de Man in Amsterdam, category Harpsichord Solo (2018)
Absolute First Prize in the solo category, 2nd prize in the open solo category since 1989 at the Wanda Landowska International Harpsichord Competition in Ruvo di Puglia (2018)
2nd prize at the 10th National Early Music Festival With Music Through the Ages – From Renaissance to Classicism in Leżajsk, category Solo Instruments (2017)
3rd prize at the 9th National Early Music Festival With Music Through the Ages – From Renaissance to Classicism in Leżajsk, category Solo Instruments (2016)
Distinction at the 9th National Early Music Festival With Music Through the Ages – From Renaissance to Classicism in Leżajsk, category Chamber Ensemble (2016)
3rd prize in the solo category at the IV National Wanda Landowska Harpsichord Competition in Gdańsk, category Harpsichord Solo (2016)
3rd prize in the solo category at the IV Wanda Landowska National Harpsichord Competition in Gdańsk, category Solo Harpsichord (2014).

Victoria has refined her skills under the guidance of outstanding singers and harpsichordists including Beatriz Lafont Murcia, Mariusz Kwiecień, Urszula Bartkiewicz, Aline Zylberajch-Gester, Goska Isphording, Corina Marti, Marek Toporowski, Pierre Hantaï, Martin Gester, Nicholas Parle, and Elam Rotem. She is a recipient of several prestigious scholarships, including the MKiDN Young Poland Program in 2022, the Rector’s Scholarship of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice from 2018 to 2023, the Académie Musicale de Villecroze in France in 2016, the National Fund for Children in 2016, and the Koszęcin Municipality Scholarship in 2015 and 2017.

In 2023, as a member of the vocal ensemble Exploratori Ensemble, she took part in the international project Jan Brant – Opera Omnia, led by Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett. This project aimed to collect, reconstruct, and record works of the previously unrecorded Renaissance composer Jan Brant. The resulting album received a prestigious nomination for the International Classical Music Awards ICMA 2025.

Victoria performs both in Poland and abroad, including in the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Italy. She enjoys combining singing with harpsichord playing, performing both contemporary and Baroque repertoire.

Jan Markowski

Jan Markowski was born in Skarżysko-Kamienna, Poland. He graduated from Ludomir Różycki Secondary Music School in Kielce in the class of Alicja Kociuba in 2021. He is a student of Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. Jan studies classical guitar in the class of prof. Marek Nosal as well as
lute and early music in the class of prof. Jan Čižmář. He plays classical guitar, baroque guitar, theorbo, mandora, renaissance lute and other plucked instruments.

He is a laureate of many guitar competitions. His most important awards are:

Janek’s awards

3 rd place on 16 th Anna Amalia International Competition for Young Guitarist in Weimar, Germany (2023)
2 nd place and an award for outstanding performance of piece of music from competition’s final stage on International Guitar Competition in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic (2023)
double 1 st place on guitar competition “Gitara Viva” in Kielce, Poland (2019, 2021)
3rd place in the National Music Competition of the Artistic Education Center (Centrum Edukacji Artystycznej) in Inowrocław in the guitar category (March 2019)
1st place in the Joaquín Rodrigo International Guitar Competition in Olsztyn (July 2021)
Twice 2nd place and 1st place in the International Guitar Competition in Katowice (February 2019, 2021, January 2023)
3rd place in the 1st International Guitar Competition in Albania (December 2020)
3rd place in the 19th Czesław Droździewicz International Guitar Competition in Krynica-Zdrój (February 2018)
3rd prize in the 21st International Guitar Festival and Competition „Cithara Ignea” in Żory (April 2018)

Jan is repeatedly invited to participate in prestigious cultural events. He performed several times in the Royal Castle in Warsaw and twice in the Royal Łazienki Park in Warsaw during concerts organized by the “Narodowy Fundusz na Rzecz Dzieci” (National Children’s Fund). In December 2019, he performed on the final concert of the 12th Łukasz Pietrzak Guitar Festival and Competition „Gitaromania” in Jelenia Góra. He also performed on one of the concerts of “Gitara Viva” Guitar Festival and competition in Kielce, Poland in March 2023.

Jan also actively takes part in various projects. He performed theorbo part in Noemi Savkova’s opera “Tvorovani”, during Festival “Janáček Brno
2024” in Brno. As solo guitarist he took part in project “Mertz for 4”, which was part of “48. Guitar Festival of J.K. Mertz” in Bratislava. The project was focused on performing solo music for classical guitar by Mertz in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. He also performed in “Juditha Triumphans” by A. Vivaldi, which took part in “Polskie Niebo” hall in Gdańsk in October 2023 with Capella Gedanensis. In March 2024 he played in Wrocław, Poland in project with Leçons de Ténèbres by Couperin as well as on many other early music project on Academy of Music in Katowice. He is also interested in performing chamber music written for plucked instruments in various compositions and from different styles and periods.

As guitarist and lutenist he had lessons with many renowned professors such as Gerard Abiton, Thomass Offermann, Johannes Mono, Judicael Perroy, Jeremy Jouve, Cristian Gutierrez, Evangelina Mascardi and Nigel North. Jan is currently playing on the double top classical guitar made by Petr Matoušek, which was funded by “Młoda Polska” Scholarship he got in 2020 “For purchase of master luthier instrument” and baroque guitar made by Alberto Peñaloza Aragonés in 2024. In 2019 he received a Minister’s of Culture and National Heritage scholarship for artistic achievements. He was a scholarship holder of “Krajowy Fundusz na Rzecz Dzieci” (Polish Children’s Fund) from 2013 to 2021.

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS

Diplomas and Certificates

As musicians with a deep passion for our craft, we are proud to share our accomplishments in the world of music. Both of us have earned prestigious diplomas and certifications from renowned institutions, underscoring our dedication to continuous growth and mastery.

Diplomas

Certificates

OUR CONCERTS

Music of Sunny Spain

On October 30, 2024, an educational concert for children titled Music of Sunny Spain took place at the Katowice City of Gardens institution.

The duo performed both baroque and 20th-century pieces.

Photos: Arkadiusz Ławrywianiec

Evenings of Organ and Chamber Music

On October 5, 2024, the duo performed at the 21st festival titled Evenings of Organ and Chamber Music in Tarnowskie Góry, presenting sacred music for mezzosoprano and theorbo. The program featured composers such as C. Monteverdi and J. S. Bach.

With a Lens in the Background

On August 22, 2024, the concert With a Lens in the Background took place as part of the 18th Promotional Festival August of Talents at the Galeria Katowice of the Silesian District of the Association of Polish Art Photographers.

The program featured Spanish Baroque and 20th-century works for mezzosoprano, baroque guitar, and classical guitar.

Photo: Arkadiusz Ławrywianiec

The Spanish Music Concert

On November 18, 2023, The Spanish Music Concert took place as part of the 5th International Scientific and Artistic Guitar Conference in the B. Szabelski Hall at the K. Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.

The duo presented a Spanish repertoire spanning from the early Baroque to the 21st century. The concert featured the voice, harpsichord, castanets, baroque guitar, and classical guitar. During the performance, a world premiere of a piece composed for Victoria took place, in which the artist simultaneously sang and played.
Photos: Izabela Bajda

Proposed Concerts Programs

Concert titled A Baroque Journey Through Italy and Spain

Victoria Lerche-Kurpas – mezzosoprano

Jan Markowski – baroque guitar, theorbo

Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) – Diporti di Euterpe: Lagrime mie op. 7
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) – Voglio di vita uscir SV 337
Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) – Che si può fare? op. 8 (1664)
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) – Sì dolce è’l tormento SV 332
Francisco Guerau (1649-1722) – 8 diferencias de Españoleta (Poema Harmonico, Madrid: 1694)
Juan Arañes (1580-1649) – Chacona A la vida bona
José Marín (1618–1699) – Ojos, pues me desdeñáis
José Marín (1618–1699) – No piense Menguilla ya
José Marín (1618-1699) – Si quieres dar Marica en lo cierto

Program of Sacred Music

Victoria Lerche-Kurpas – mezzosoprano, harpsichord

Jan Markowski – theorbo

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643) – Partite 11 sopra l’Aria di Monicha (Toccate e partite, Libro I)
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) – Ecce sacrum paratum convivium SV 299
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) – Schemellis Gesangbuch:
Die bittre Leidenszeit beginnet abermal BWV 450
Komm, süßer Tod BWV 478
Liebster Herr Jesu, wo bleibst du so lange BWV 484
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643) – Cento Partite sopra Passacagli (Toccate e partite, Libro I)
Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643) – Laudate Dominum in Sanctis Eius SV 287

Concert Program for Children