​​Mari Margaret (Maria Szczepańska) is an improvising Polish violinist who combines classical training with openness to various musical genres and styles. She graduated with a Master of Arts degree from the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, studying under Professor Adam Musialski. For her artistic achievements, she received a distinction from the Rector of the University of Silesia, where she also completed studies in Art of Writing and Creative Writing and Publishing Marketing. Currently, she is pursuing doctoral research focused on musical-literary projects.

Mari has performed on concert tours across Germany, Austria, Italy, and China, playing on prestigious stages and in large venues such as Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Philharmonie Essen, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Die Glocke in Bremen, Mozartsaal Mannheim, Prinzregententheater Munich, Messehalle Erfurt, Tempodrom Berlin, and Olympiahalle Munich. In China, as deputy concertmaster, she performed with a symphony orchestra at Xi’an Concert Hall, Changsha Concert Hall, Qingdao Grand Theater, Jinwan Grand Theater in Tianjin, and Hangzhou Grand Canal Theater. She has improvised at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig and at the international HONA Festival in Greece. Mari has performed with rock legends such as Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple/Black Sabbath), Lita Ford, John Elefante (Kansas), and Randall Hall (Lynyrd Skynyrd).

In search of her own path, she began a solo career, presenting original music shaped by her wide-ranging concert experience. She creates improvised, genre-blending compositions, combining classical violin sound with sonoristic effects and live looping. The meaning behind Mari Margaret’s creative identity is reflected in her names. Her middle name, Margaret, means “pearl” – symbolizing subtle beauty that emerges through process and often remains hidden at first glance. Mari, a modern form of the traditional name Maria, expresses a rootedness in classical tradition while remaining open to transformation and new, uncategorized creative spaces. It evokes gentleness, timeless beauty, as well as the depths and the sea – the birthplace of the pearl.

She defines her mission as creating music beyond boundaries – music that touches emotions and carries deeper meaning. Her concerts are interwoven with original spoken word, which enters into dialogue with the music, guiding listeners through journeys across various artistic landscapes. Her repertoire includes chamber and solo performances – classical, contemporary, and meditative.

Mari remains open to collaboration and expresses readiness to contribute conceptually to musical events, drawing on her experience as a music manager.

As a writer and literary scholar, Maria Szczepańska is developing her academic work as a doctoral candidate at the University of Silesia, where she researches music-literary projects that combine her two greatest passions: writing and music. She holds degrees in Writing Arts as well as Creative Writing and Publishing Marketing from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Silesia, and in Instrumental Performance from the Academy of Music in Katowice. She has authored articles for Ruch Muzyczny and Opcje magazines, as well as scholarly papers published in Śląskie Studia Polonistyczne, Academic Journal of Modern Philology, and the Comparative Projects series by the Universitas Publishing House. Maria is a recipient of the PROM scholarship (NAWA), through which she conducted research in London in collaboration with the University of London. She has presented at an academic conference at the University of Wrocław (2024), as well as at a conference held in Barcelona, organized by the International Academic Forum, in collaboration with the University of Barcelona and the IAFOR Research Centre at the Osaka University (2025). She also teaches courses on developing creative writing skills at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Silesia in Katowice.

M. Szczepańska, Through the Ear to the Heart: On Musicality of Stanisław Barańczak’s "Piosenki nie śpiewane Żonie”, in Śląskie Studia Polonistyczne 2024, no. 1 (23)

M. Szczepańska, Attempt at Unity. On the Intermedial Polyphony of the “Essay for Voice and Double Bass” by Tadeusz Sławek and Bogdan Mizerski, in Sound and Voice. The Resonance of Literature, ed. A. Hejmej, K. Kucia-Kuśmierska, and K. Ciemiera, Cracow 2025

As a PR and Project Manager, Maria Szczepańska specializes in the promotion and production of artistic events. For many years, she has been actively involved in organizing cultural projects across Poland and Europe.

Her management portfolio includes collaborations with prestigious institutions such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Salzburger Festspiele, Die Angelika Prokopp Sommerakademie der Wiener Philharmoniker, and the Krzysztof Penderecki European Centre for Music in Lusławice. She has organized and produced concerts in renowned venues, including the Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw and St. Elisabeth-Kirche in Berlin. She has worked with various media outlets, including Dwójka (Polish Radio Channel 2), Ruch Muzyczny magazine, as well as numerous Polish radio and TV stations such as Radio Kraków, Radio Katowice, TVP Kultura, TVP Info World, and TVP Katowice.

Maria was responsible for the production of concerts by world-renowned jazz violinist, Adam Bałdych, in Poland and across Europe, participating in the promotion and concert premieres of his album Portraits (Imaginary Records/ACT Music). As a PR Manager, she has collaborated with the artistic agencies SONORA music and Malke Music Management, as well as the International Festival of Early Improvised Music All’Improvviso. She took part in the implementation of the EU-funded program S-EEEMERGING+, and in the promotion of albums released under the All’Improvviso label. She is the co-creator and Project Manager of :SEN TUWIMA, a project by the Jasiek Piwowarczyk Group. Maria combines her experience in event organization, production, PR, and promotion across the fields of early music, classical music, and jazz. She completed the certified Music.Multimedia.Management program organized by the Karłowicz Philharmonic in Szczecin in cooperation with the Norwegian Fjord Cadenza Festival and the TRAFO Contemporary Art Centre, where she participated in lectures, talks, and workshops led by leading figures from record labels, cultural institutions, and concert halls around the world. Additionally, she has completed numerous trainings in digital marketing and social media management, and has collaborated with Apple as an ambassador for the iStudies program.