Katarzyna Smolarek is a Polish guitarist born in 1995. She started playing the guitar at the age of 8. She was studying classical guitar in Polish music schools with professor Lidia Przyłęcka and professor Ryszard Bałauszko. In 2015 she started her bachelor’s degree at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg with professor Marco Diaz-Tamayo.

She has been awarded over 20 prizes at national and international competitions, the most important of which are:

• 1^st prize at the Internationales Gitarrenfestival des Kunstinstituts BAJA w Templinie (Germany) in 2007.
• 1^st prize at the International Guitar Festival in Trzęsaczu (Poland) in 2009.
• Twice 3^rd prize at the Czesława Droździewicz International Guitar Festival in Krynica- Zdrój (Poland) in 2010 and in 2012.
• 3^rd prize at the Transilvanian Guitar Festival in Cluj- Napoca (Romania) in 2012.
• 3^rd prize at the International Guitar Competition “Forum Gitarre Wien” – youth division in Wien (Austria) in 2012.
• 2^nd prize at the International Guitar Competition “Cithara Ignea” in Żory (Poland) in 2016.
• 1^st prize at the Sydney Eistedfodd Guitar Competition in Sydney (Australia) in 2016.
• 2^nd prize at the L. Luthier Contest in Bratislava (Slovakia) in 2016.
• 2^nd prize at the Salzburg Guitar Fest Competition in 2017.
• 1^st prize at the Sinaia Guitar Competition (Romania) in 2017.
• 2^nd prize at the Concurso Musical Dr. Luis Sigall (Chile) in 2017.
• 1^st prize at the Sanremo International Guitar Festival (Italy) in 2017.
• 2^nd prize at the “51st Concorso Internazionale di Chitarra Classica Michele Pittaluga” in Alessandria (Italy) in 2018.
• 2^nd prize at the ‘Young Talents’ International Guitar Competition in Uppsala, Sweden.