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She has appeared in spectacles and musicals, as well as in films, among others in the performance based on fragments of the diaries of Marilyn Monroe directed by Andrzej Strzelecki, the musical performance “Mędrole” based on texts by Father Tishchner directed by Małgorzata Flegel, the musical performance “Mozart” directed by B. Porczyk, the “Winter Awakening” directed by Anna Sroki-Hryń, and a spectacle based on fragments of the film “Swingi EXCENTRYCY” with a big band under the baton of Wiesław Pieregorólka.
She is a laureate of numerous individual awards and distinctions at jazz competitions and vocal festivals, including Grand Prix-Złota Tarka in Iława, First Prize at the International Jazz Singers Meeting in Zamość, Grand Prix at the Hot Jazz Spring jazz competition in Częstochowa.
She has performed with outstanding musicians such as Wojciech Karolak, Urszula Dudziak, Grażyna Auguścik, Andrzej Jagodziński, Michał Urbaniak and others. She has performed with the Old Timers ensemble, which composed and recorded music for the film Va Banque, the Queen Symphonic project, the Poznań Fifteen Orchestra, the Wojciech Zieliński Orchestra, and others.
As a session musician, she has recorded with Michał Urbaniak, Big Collective Band, Wojciech Zieliński Orchestra (project Doda with Orchestra), Anna Serafińska, Monika Urlik, and in TV programs such as “Jaka to melodia”. She works composing music for theatre performances and short films.
An essential role in her work is her fascination with Polish folk music, which she absorbed from an early age by dancing and singing in the Poligrodzianie ensemble. Currently, under her direction, the band has won a number of awards and distinctions at international folklore festivals, among which is the laurel of the V World Championship of Folklore – Bulgaria – Gold Medal in the category of music-vocal-dance ensembles and the Absolute World Championship of Folklore – Grand Prix “Golden Orpheus” of one of the most important competitions of its kind in the world.
Although many musical genres are close to him, he does not close his activities to any of them. He plays solo and together with bands belonging to the leading Polish improvised music bands – Maciej Fortuna Trio (Solar Ring, Sahjia, At Home, Jazz), the multiple award-winning Maciej Fortuna Quartet or the duo Fortuna/Dys, which has released two albums – Tropy (FM, 2013) and Maciejewski Variations (DUX, 2014). He performs music combining jazz with electronics – both solo and in duet with An On Bast (albums 1, Live and Electronic Transcription of Film Music by Krzysztof Penderecki). His Slavic project based on Kolberg’s collections (Kolberg Fortuny; later Maciej Fortuna Słowiański) was exceptionally successful. He has performed at many international festivals, including Jarasum International Jazz Festival, Heineken Jazzaldia (San Sebastián Jazz Festival), and Fringe Festival.
In 2016 he performed the first-ever jazz concert inside the volcano. In 2017 he reactivated the Poznań Fifteen Orchestra. A year later, he performed his composition’s premiere for 100 trumpets and percussion. Since 2019, the Poznań Komeda Marathon has been held under the artistic direction of Maciej Fortuna. Jerzy Milian dedicated his last composition to him, which was released at the turn of 2019 and 2020. In 2021 he resumed the activities of his trio, with whom he recorded the album “Baltic”. At that time, he began meditations for the trumpet solo, a series of interactions recorded in abandoned places and among nature in Poland and Spain.
He creates his own language of musical expression and expands the sound palette of his instrument, experimenting with combining different genres of art. He creates and directs multimedia concerts and video productions.
Maciej Fortuna is an associate professor of jazz trumpet at the Academy of Music in Poznań. He runs his music publishing house, Fortuna Music, and leads the Jazz Poznań Association 2015.
