Simultaneo Vocal Octet

The Simultaneo Vocal Octet was founded in 2015 and specializes in the performance of both contemporary and early music. The ensemble has appeared at such prestigious events as the opening concert of the 67th Warsaw Autumn at the National Philharmonic, the NOMUS Festival in Novi Sad (Serbia), the Skálholt Summer Concerts (Iceland), the Sönghátíð í Hafnarborg Festival (Iceland), the Haapsalu Early Music Festival (Estonia), the W. Lutosławski Polish Radio Concert Studio in Warsaw, the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa (Estonia), the Musiikkitalo Music Centre (Helsinki), and many others.

Simultaneo has premiered numerous new works by composers such as Helena Tulve (Estonia), Uģis Prauliņš (Latvia), Alberto Schiavo (Italy), Aleksandra Vrebalov (Serbia), Anna Rocławska-Musiałczyk, and Piotr Salaber.

The ensemble has collaborated with many outstanding instrumentalists, including the NeoQuartet string quartet, Krzysztof Urbaniak (organ), Maria Pomianowska (knee fiddles), the historical instruments ensemble Silva Rerum arte, and others.

In February 2024, Simultaneo released a new album for Polish Radio titled New Faces of Tradition, featuring commissioned works for Biłgoraj suka and vocal octet, with Maria Pomianowska as the soloist.

The founder and artistic director of the Simultaneo Vocal Octet is Dr. Karol Kisiel, a graduate of the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn. He is a recipient of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education scholarship for outstanding young scholars, the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship for cultural promotion, and the President of Estonia’s Award for the best university graduates in the country. He is a lecturer at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, as well as the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk, and the founder and president of the Polihymnia Foundation, which promotes vocal music.

Pictured: Simultaneo Vocal Octet, photo by Alina Żemojdzin