Maria Knapik began her professional singing career when she was barely out of diapers, joining her family’s renowned folk music ensemble, the Eight Sisters Knapik, based near Kraków, Poland. Much like the celebrated von Trapp Family portrayed in the Academy Award-winning film The Sound of Music, Knapik grew up surrounded by music. As the youngest of eight daughters in a deeply musical household, performing and using music as a way to give back to the community was simply a way of life.
“I began performing with my sisters when I was about three years old,” recalls Knapik. “My grandfather played the violin, my mother played the mandolin, and my father both performed and managed our family group. For my first performance, my mother paid me with a piece of chocolate.”
The Eight Sisters Knapik went on to give thousands of paid performances throughout Poland and across Europe. Beyond the concert stage, the family also devoted countless hours to performing at seniors’ homes and charitable events free of charge. Through those experiences, Knapik learned early in life that music is far more than entertainment — it is a powerful way to express emotion, bring people together, and support meaningful causes.
After meeting and marrying her Canadian-born husband, Richard Sztramko, Knapik transferred from a renowned operatic music program in Poland to study in the voice program at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, with the late professor Victor Martens. With the encouragement and training of Martens and other vocal coaches and mentors, Knapik built a successful career as an award-winning opera singer performing leading roles in operas like Tosca and Rusalka and appearing in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall.
“A voice that is trained has the power to transcend speech and touch the heart and the soul,” Knapik says. “There is incredible harmony in the music, but also in the artistry and the focus. The soloists, the choir, the orchestra and the director are all united in the goal of giving the best of ourselves. When an audience is captivated with a performance, it’s a moment that unites both the performers and the audience in an act of giving and receiving.”
Knapik is passionate about music and finds true joy in performing, and she has also carried on the family tradition of using music as a way to give back to the community and to support worthy causes.
In 2006, Maria Knapik co-founded the Ottawa Classical Choir (ottawaclassicalchoir.com) along with conductor Michel Brousseau. The mission of the choir was to give amateur singers the chance to work with professional soloists and to bring high-quality classical music to Ottawa. The choir has performed a wide range of works in Canada and abroad and performed a number of concerts to support worthy charitable causes.
Knapik also works with local children’s choirs on weekends to provide children with musical training and mentorship. She has served as a mentor to young musicians, some of which have gone on to pursue professional musical careers.
