Tomasz Skweres, born on April 3, 1984, is a Polish composer and cellist who lives and works in Vienna (Austria) and Regensburg (Germany). He studied composition with Chaya Czernowin and Detlev Müller-Siemens, and cello with Valentin Erben and Stefan Kropfitsch at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
In recent years, compositions for orchestra, particularly for symphony orchestra, have played a central role in Tomasz Skweres' artistic development. His orchestral works have been performed by, among others, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Schleswig-Holstein Symphony Orchestra, the Lower Bavarian Philharmonic, the Leopoldinum Orchestra (Poland), the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, the Madrid Festival Orchestra, the Vienna Concert-Verein, the Global Symphony Orchestra (Hong Kong), the Cappella Gedanensis (Poland), and the Hastings Philharmonic (Great Britain).
Furthermore, he has received commissions from renowned ensembles such as the Apollon Musagete Quartet (Poland), the Contemporary Music Orchestra (Poland), œnm – österreichisches ensemble fuer neue musik (Austria), the Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble (USA), Ensemble Names (Austria), Ensemble Zeitfluss (Austria), Ensemble Wiener Collage (Austria), Ensemble Risonanze Erranti (Germany), Reconsil Ensemble (Austria), Ensemble Platypus (Austria), and numerous other ensembles.
The works of Tomasz Skweres are regularly performed at prestigious festivals worldwide, including Wien Modern (Vienna), Warschauer Herbst, Musica Polonica Nova (Wrocław), the Bern Biennale, the ISCM World Music Days 2016 in Korea, the Tongyeong International Music Festival, Festival Musica Strasbourg (France), Klangspuren in Tirol (Austria), Musika Musica in Bilbao (Spain), and many more.
The works of Tomasz Skweres are regularly performed at prestigious festivals around the world, including Wien Modern (Vienna), Warschauer Herbst, Musica Polonica Nova (Wrocław), the Bern Biennale, the ISCM World Music Days 2016 in Korea, the Tongyeong International Music Festival, Festival Musica Strasbourg (France), Klangspuren in Tirol (Austria), Musika Musica in Bilbao (Spain), and many others. Tomasz Skweres has received numerous international and national awards and prizes at composition competitions, including 2nd prize at the 2019 Zemlinsky Prize International Composition Competition (USA), the 2022 Austromechana Publicity Prize (Austria), the 2015 Advancement Award for Music from the City of Vienna, the 2024 Cultural Advancement Award from the City of Regensburg, 1st prize at the 2021 Earplay International Composer Competition (USA), the 2024 Ithaca College-Heckscher Foundation International Composition Prize, 1st prize at the 2017 TONALi Composition Competition (Germany), the 2025 Bavarian Composition Prize from the via-nova-chor Munich, 1st prize at the 2024 Andrea Ceraso International Composition Competition in Rome, 3rd prize at the 2022 Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award (USA), and 1st prize at the 2008 Franz Josef Reinl International Composition Competition. (Austria) and first prize at the 2021 Gilgamesh International Composition Competition (USA).
Tomasz Skweres' artistic development and compositional output have been supported by numerous scholarships. His works are published by Sikorski Music Publishers in Hamburg, Doblinger Publishers in Vienna, and Verlag Neue Musik in Berlin. They have been broadcast in various countries, including Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Australia, Mexico, and Cuba, and released on CD and other recordings by renowned labels such as DUX, Genuine, Hänssler Classic, col legno, and Orlando Records.
Since 2012, Tomasz Skweres has been principal cellist of the Regensburg Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also an active performer of contemporary music. As a soloist, chamber musician, and guest musician, he performs with ensembles such as the Collegium Novum Zürich, the œnm – Austrian Ensemble for New Music in Salzburg, Ensemble Reconsil, and the Platypus Ensemble in Vienna, interpreting contemporary music in renowned concert halls worldwide. Tomasz Skweres also gives solo recitals of contemporary works for cello, including at festivals in Bucharest. Numerous contemporary composers have dedicated solo works to him.
From 2016 to 2017, Tomasz Skweres was a lecturer in cello at the Detmold University of Music. In 2015, he also taught at the Regensburg University of Catholic Church Music and Music Education.
Since 2019, Tomasz Skweres has been the chairman of the Regensburg-based association for contemporary music, UNTERNEHMEN GEGENWART. The association organizes the annual music festival UNTERNEHMEN GEGENWART as well as numerous other concerts with contemporary music, exchange projects and interdisciplinary events.

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