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Ewa Uryga
As an excellent and respected vocalist, she has a highly successful track record with a large number music awards. Her artistic activity involves different music styles and genres. She graduated from the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice. Nonetheless, she began to sing much earlier. As a young girl, Ewa Uryga performed a capella songs during school events, without a microphone or instrumental accompaniment.
Her first artistic success was the 1-st place in a singing competition organized by the MDK in Bytom, where as a 13-year-old girl she stunned the jury with the strength of her voice – How old are you? – she was asked. After graduating from primary school she continued her education at technical secondary school of mechanical engineering, where she aspired to make a career in sports. She successfully played basketball – with the chance of becoming a junior player in the national team. Paradoxically, Ewa sang in the ‘Trzynastka’ high school music band. Her first singing success came very soon – as a first-grader of technical secondary school she began to perform on television shows for TVP Katowice Debut Studio.Afterwards, Ewa took part in the numerous National Festivals being awarded with the first place inter alia in Zielona Góra, Opole, Kołobrzeg and Ustroń. She cooperated with radio orchestra conducted by Jerzy Millian in Katowice, where she recorded songs including her own compositions.
A real breakthrough in her life turned out to be the moment, when she heard Mahalia Jackson for the first time. It had such a great influence on Ewa that she decided to continue her education at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, at the Faculty of Jazz and Popular Music.
She turned over a new leaf taking part in jazz music festivals, and she succeeded e.g. was awarded the ‘Klucz do kariery’ Prize of the jazz festival in Gorzów Wielkopolski. Ewa’s further successes were the 2nd Prize in Swedish music festival in Karlshamn, as well as the 2nd prize of International Meeting of Jazz Vocalists in Zamość.
She had the opportunity to collaborate with such outstanding Polish artists as: Marek Napiórkowski, Włodzimierz Nahorny, Henryk Miśkiewicz, Piotr Baron, Jacek and Wojciech Niedzielowie, Andrzej Jagodzińsk, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski, Zbigniew Lewandowski, Piotr Wyleżoł, Łukasz Żyta, Paweł Tomaszewski, Piotr Wrombel, Dariusz Ziółek, Krzysztof Herdzin as well as with many others. She has released 7 albums, including 2 recorded in New York where she started her cooperation with a legendary jazz musician – Marek Soskin, who was worldwide famous Sonny Rollins’ longstanding pianist.
She has participated in numerous projects along with the following artists: Anna Maria Jopek, Zbigniew Wodecki, Mieczysław Szcześniak, Dorota Miśkiewicz, Ewa Bem, Janusz Szrom, Hanna Banaszak. Ewa Uryga also participated in such workshops as oratorios: ‘Droga Nadziei’ by Janusz Kohuta, ‘Woła nas Pan’ by Włodzimierz Korcz according to Ernest Bryll’s writing and ‘Niepołomice’ by Zbigniew Wodecki. She was the main singer in the following musicals: ‘Zorba’ directed by Jan Szurmiej, ‘Chicago’ directed by Katarzyna Deszcz in collaboration with the Musical Theatre in Gliwice.
As the result of her cooperation with the following American musicians, 2 out of 7 Ewa’s albums were released. Marko Soskin, Harvie Swartz, Joe Handerson – all of the albums he participated in were Grammy nominated, and one album was awarded the Grammy Award. Vic Juris, Matt Wilson, an American Gospel group ‘The Jackson Singers’, Ruth Lynch – a British Gospel singer, who was invited by Ewa to record an album dedicated to St. John Paul II.
The album, recorded after the visit and performance in Rome, was a way of expressing her gratitude to God for the meeting with the Pope. Ewa Uryga has also cooperated with an American Gospel singer – Brian Fentress. In addition to the above mentioned achievements, she can pride herself on having performed in numerous concerts, TV shows, she also gave many radio, TV as well as press interviews. She took part in the historic concert, marking the first anniversary of Poland’s accession to the EU, dated 1 May 2005, during which the legendary ‘Prayer’ by Bulat Okudzhava was sang. Ewa Uryga also went down in history performing an English version of a verse of a religious anthem ‘Abba Father’, which took place at World Youth Day 1990, held in Częstochowa and hosted by St. John Paul II. Additionally, she has 7 years of experience as a vocal coach of jazz workhops in Chodzież, and a 2-year experience as a vocal coach at the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, for the students of extramural mode.
Currently, she is in the process of preparing material for her next album involving American musicians – the members of ‘New York Jazz Collective’: Mark Soskin, Luques Curtis and Dorota Piotrwoska, with whom she has recently cooperated during her in-house as well as abroad tours. She initiated the cycle of concerts under the name ‘The Meeting Classic and Jazz’ at the Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice and became its music director.