About

Hania Derej (b. 2005) is a composer, pianist, arranger, and conductor. She is currently studying film music at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and is a graduate of the Academy of Music in Kraków, where she studied conducting. The young artist has composed over 150 works, some of which have been recorded across 11 releases. She creates music in a variety of styles, including incidental, jazz, chamber, film, and electronic music.

She is the recipient of dozens of awards for both composition and performance, including: the annual Minister of Culture and National Heritage Award in the "Music" category (2026); a nomination for the Koryfeusz of Polish Music Award in the "Discovery of the Year" category (2025); the double Grand Prix at the Ladies’ Jazz Festival 2025 in Gdynia (awarded by both the jury and the audience); first place in *Gazeta Wyborcza*'s "SANKI" 2025 music poll, earning the title of "new hope of Polish music"; first place in the "New Hope" category of the JAZZTOP 2024 music critics' poll conducted by the international magazine *Jazz Forum*; the Grand Prize at the inaugural "Jazz Talents" competition during the 21st edition of the Zakopane Jazz Spring (Wiosna Jazzowa) festival in 2025; the "Music Lovers' Hope of the Year 2024" award at the Grand Prix Jazz Melomani 2024 gala in Łódź; the main "Tryton" Award for the most outstanding artistic personality at the FAMA 2024 festival in Świnoujście; a special award for jazz compositions and arrangements at the Junior Jazz Festival 2023 in Wadowice; and the "Young Composer 2023" award, funded by the Polish Composers' Union in Warsaw, presented during the International Piano Forum in Sanok. In 2025, Hania received a distinction in the nationwide "Young Promoter of Poland" competition—held under the honorary patronage of the Spouse of the President of the Republic of Poland (with the Polish Promotional Emblem Foundation as a project partner)—which recognizes young Poles whose efforts help popularize knowledge about Poland and build its positive image globally. The citation for the main award she received in 2024 at the FAMA Festival in Świnoujście—along with the title of the festival’s "greatest artistic personality"—praised her for "combining creative maturity with youthful energy, and for a concept that captivates and holds the audience's attention while shunning the world of commercialism."

As a conductor, she has performed with ensembles including the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra, Cavatina Philharmonic Orchestra, National Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, Elbląg Chamber Orchestra, Lviv Chamber Orchestra "Akademia" (Ukraine), and Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic).

Hania participates in international music projects and conferences across Europe, including the European FAMES Orchestra (Macedonia), The Playground Residence (Germany, Netherlands), International 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, the ESNS Showcase Festival & Conference networking mission (Netherlands), and Jazzahead 2025 (Germany).

She is currently focusing on a new project, the "Hania Derej Trio," which blurs the boundaries between jazz, electronica, and neoclassical music. The premiere is scheduled for the autumn of 2026, and the band is already performing the material at festivals in Poland and abroad, including OFF Festival, Music Week Poland, Ladies Jazz Festival, A to Jazz Festival, SHARP Festival, MENT Festival, Manchester Jazz Festival, Riga Music Week, and the Polish Jazz Festival in Budapest.

In March 2026, she toured Mexico and the United States (Texas), performing with a trio at festivals (EuroJazz Festival and SXSW) and in jazz clubs (including Zinco Jazz Club and Jazzaland).

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