Hania Derej born 18.01.2005. – Composer, pianist, arranger and conductor. She is a student of symphonic conducting at the Music Academy in Krakow and of jazz composition and arrangement at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She is a scholarship holder of the Rafal Brzóska Foundation, a scholarship holder of the National Institute of Music and Dance in Warsaw and the Podkarpackie Foundation for Cultural Development, a scholarship holder of the Marti Keuning Eckhardt Foundation (Netherlands) and a laureate of the Bielsko-Biala Mayor’s Award. She is the author of more than 130 compositions, some of which have been recorded on seven CDs at, among others, the recording studio of the Polish Radio in Katowice. At the age of 10, Hania started composing pieces for solo piano and at the age of 13 also for orchestra. On 23.03.2018, the premiere performance of Hania’s first composition composed for a chamber ensemble of seven instruments (‘Race of Life’) took place.
In February 2023, during the International Piano Forum in Sanok, the premiere performance of Hani’s composition entitled. ‘My Story’ performed by the National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra.

Hania creates music in a variety of styles, including jazz, illustrative, chamber, film, electronic and pop music. Hania’s music stimulates the imagination, is characterised by its melodiousness and carries an emotional message. Hania is a laureate of composition awards, including, for example, the Special Award for Jazz Compositions and Arrangements at the Junior Jazz Festival 2023 in Wadowice, or the “Young Composer 2023” Award funded by the Polish Composers’ Union in Warsaw during the XVIII International Piano Forum “Bieszczady without Borders.” Within the framework of the aforementioned Piano Forum, Hania was also awarded piano prizes, such as an honorable mention for performing a concert with the National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and a concert with the Lviv Chamber Orchestra “Academy.” At the age of 17, Hania was awarded a special prize in conducting at the Elbląg Masterclass and as the winner she conducted the Elbląg Chamber Orchestra at one of the concerts in the 2022/2023 artistic season. , As a conductor, Hania has also had the opportunity to conduct at concerts including the National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the Lviv Chamber Orchestra “Akademia”, the Moravian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic and the European FAMES Orchestra.

In August 2024, Hania was awarded the TRYTON, the main prize of the FAMA Festival in Świnoujście for the greatest artistic personality of the festival, funded by the Mayor of Świnoujście, “for the combination of creative maturity and youthful energy, for a concept that magnetises and arrests, while escaping from the world of commercialism.”

Hania also participates in international music projects, such as the FAMES Orchestra in Skopje, the Musić Export Academy in Warsaw, the International Jazz Platform in Oslo and Łódź, and the Playground Residence in Berlin and Nijmegen. At concerts she performs in various instrumental line-ups depending on the compositions presented. She gives concerts at festivals, community centres and music clubs.