Mariusz Smolij

Biography

Mariusz Smolij is considered one of the most consummate conductors of his generation. A frequent recording artist for Naxos International, he has been consistently gaining international critical acclaim, including praises from The New York Times for “compelling performances.” Maestro Smolij has led over 140 orchestras in 28 countries on five continents, appearing in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls. In North America, he has conducted, among many others, the Houston Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Orchestra of the Chicago Lyric Opera, St. Louis Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, New Orleans Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony and Symphony Nova Scotia. Internationally, he enjoys a notable reputation, appearing with important symphonic ensembles in Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, Holland, Israel, China, South Africa, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Poland. His engagements have included collaborations with the Berner Symphony and Sinfonieorchester Basel in Switzerland (recordings and series of concerts at the Tonhalle in Zürich), performances with Sinfonia Rotterdam, the Florence Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony, Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, the Jena and Kiel Philharmonics in Germany, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, the Sofia Philharmonic, the Bogota (Colombia) Philharmonic, the Johannesburg Philharmonic in South Africa, and all the leading orchestras in his native Poland including Polish Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, the NFM Wrocław Philharmonic and the Warsaw National Philharmonic.

Maestro Smolij joins the Utah State University Music Department as a temporary Associated Professor in August 2025. He is currently Music Director of the Riverside Symphonia in New Jersey and recently completed his 21 years tenure at the helm of Acadiana Symphony Orchestra and Conservatory of Music in Lafayette, Louisiana. Between 2016 – 2020 he was the Artistic Director of Toruń State Symphony Orchestra in Poland and the International Karol Lipiński Violin Competition and Festival in Poland. He is a former Resident Conductor of the Houston Symphony, Artistic Director of the National Forum for Music Philharmonic in Wrocław, as well as the International Festival Wratislavia Cantans in Poland. He led the Wrocław Philharmonic on its first tour to the United States and in May 2024 organized and conducted the first European tour of the Acadiana Chamber Orchestra.

Maestro Smolij served on the faculty of the School of Music at Northwestern University in Chicago-Evanston as a professor of conducting and director of the chamber orchestra. Between 2011 - 2020, he was a guest faculty at the Tianjin Conservatory of Music in China.

His over 20 commercial recording were issued by Hungaroton, Universal and Naxos featuring masterworks of Polish and American composers as well world premieres of lesser-known authors. His CD with music by Polish woman composer Grażyna Bacewicz with Capella Bydgostiensis in Poland, released in November 2014, received “Fryderyk Award”, Polish equivalent of American Grammy. His recording portfolio on Spotify has over 500,000 plays.

Born near Katowice, Poland, Maestro Smolij is also an accomplished violinist. Founder of the internationally recognized Penderecki String Quartet, he performed and recorded with this ensemble in Poland, Germany, France, Italy and the United States. After studies in Europe, he studied conducting in the United States, earning a doctoral degree from the Eastman School of Music.