Polish born cellist Dr. Dobrochna Zubek has established herself as a versatile artist dedicated to a wide-ranging musical repertoire and committed to exploring boundaries between artistic disciplines in her own words: “The bridge between the arts found in interdisciplinary performances fascinates me. Through improvisation, I find that I can make a strong connection and create a dynamic and integrative performance.” A soloist, chamber musician, orchestral cellist, and educator whose evolving and multi-faceted career has taken her to a number of cities in Europe, Asia, and North America. Over the years she has collaborated with a variety of artists such as Peter Gabriel, José Carreras, Shauna Rolston, and Gioconda Barbuto.
Zubek has held an orchestra position with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico (2009-2012) and on festival stages, she has participated as a soloist at Geneé International Ballet Competition, (2019) Banff Center for Arts and Creativity (2019) and Ottawa Chamberfest (2016) to mention the most recent. She has given a series of masterclasses in Poland, Canada, the USA, and China. Some of them as a part of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of New Music Festival held in Chinese Universities in Guiyang, Chengdu, and Hong Kong.
Zubek made her New York debut at La MAMA experimental theatre, an off-Broadway, with an all-female production of This is Why We Live for cello and two actors where she was described as a virtuoso cellist and her playing as soulful and wonderful. As a member of Thin Edge New Music Collective, she has made a mark as a vibrant artist premiering new works in the Canadian new music scene. In a recent performance of the premier of The Pomegranate, a chamber opera written by cellist Kye Marshall, where Zubek was featured as a solo cellist.
As a recording artist, Zubek’s repertoire includes Mexico-Voyage followed by the Juno-nominated CD recording of Hymns of Heavens and Earth composed by Peter-Anthony Togni. Recent commissions and dedications include works by Lucia Álvarez, Norbert Palej, Andrzej Zubek, Parisa Sabet, and Gregory Newsome.
Zubek’s awards include, among others, first place in the Peggy Friedman Gordon Music Competition, (2002), the Sidney Liebermann Competition, (2004), and the 2007 Alexandria Symphony Orchestra Competition in the United States.
Zubek was offered a full scholarship to pursue her cello performance studies at Baltimore’s Towson University, obtaining her B.A. and M.A. with Professor Cecylia Barczyk. This was followed by her studies with Professor Barbara Marcinkowska at the Conservatoire de Versailles in France where she received the Prix de Perfectionnement. In 2016, Zubek completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Cello Performance at the University of Toronto, studying with Professor Shauna Rolston. Her doctoral thesis is one of the first researched and documented works on contemporary Mexican music for solo cello. From 2012 she was a teaching assistant for Professor Shauna Rolston, (recipient of the Yo-Yo Ma fellowship) and a sessional instructor of cello until 2017.