Hania Derej – composer, pianist, conductor. She is a student at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (jazz composition and arrangement) and the Music Academy in Cracow (symphonic conducting). She is the author of more than 130 compositions, some of which have been recorded on nine CDs, including at the recording studio of the Polish Radio in Katowice. Hania creates music in various styles, including jazz, illustrative, chamber, and electronic music. Her music stimulates the imagination, is characterized by melodiousness, and carries an emotional message.
Hania is the recipient of many awards, including the Double Grand Prix of the Ladies’ Jazz Festival 2025 in Gdynia (from the jury and the audience), the Main Prize in the “Sanki” 2025 poll by Gazeta Wyborcza (for the new hope of the Polish music scene), the Main Prize of the first “Jazz Talents” competition within the 21st edition of Jazz Spring Zakopane 2025, the Triton Award for the greatest artistic personality of the 54th FAMA Festival 2024 in Świnoujście (Poland), a special award for compositions and arrangements at the Junior Jazz Festival 2023 in Wadowice (Poland), and the “Young Composer 2023” award funded by the Polish Composers’ Union in Warsaw during the International Piano Forum in Sanok (Poland).
Within this Piano Forum, Hania also received distinctions for piano performance, including concerts with the National Polish Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the Lviv Chamber Orchestra “Akademia.” As a conductor, Hania has led concerts with the National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra (Poland), Elbląg Chamber Orchestra (Poland), Lviv Chamber Orchestra “Akademia” (Ukraine), and the Moravian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra (Czech Republic), among others.
Hania also participates in international music projects and conferences in Europe, such as the European FAMES Orchestra (Macedonia), The Playground Residence (Germany, Netherlands), Sync Camp (Poland), International Jazz Platform (Netherlands, Norway, Poland), Music Export Academy (Poland), Global Conservatory and Eastern European Music Export Academy (Ukraine), the Iceland Airwaves Networking Mission, ESNS Showcase Festival & Conference (Netherlands), and Jazzahead 2025 (Germany).
In the JAZZTOP 2024 critics’ survey of the international magazine JAZZFORUM, Hania Derej won first place in the “New Hope” category and fifth place in the “New Hope – Ensemble” category as the Hania Derej Quintet. In April 2025, she was awarded a distinction in the nationwide “Young Promoter of Poland” contest, under the Honorary Patronage of the Wife of the President of the Republic of Poland, recognizing young Poles whose activities contribute to the popularization of knowledge about Poland and building a positive image of the country abroad. In May 2025, Hania received the award for the new hope of the Polish music scene.