Violist and composer, born in Wrocław in 1988. He studied viola with Wolfgang Klos, electroacoustic composition with Karlheinz Essl at the University of Music in Vienna (graduating with honours) as well as at Yale University and Wrocław. In 2012–21 he worked with Klangforum Wien, participating in many CD productions and concerts throughout the world. He is the CEO of the Nimikry Music company and holds international patents in musical technology. 

As a violist and composer, he regularly appears at the leading festivals for new music, including Huddersfield, Wien Modern, Ultrasonic in Berlin, and Transamériques in Montreal. His has performed, lectured, and run workshops on the invitation of leading academic institutions including Teatro Colón Academy in Buenos Aires, Pyotr Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, Electronic Music Collective in New York, National Music Conservatory in Beijing, and University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. 

His successful Vienna Konzerthaus solo debut with Grisey’s Les Espaces acoustiques (2017 Wien Modern Festival) received excellent reviews in the Austrian press (Die Presse, Der Standard). In his scientific work, he focuses on researching electronic augmentation of classical acoustic instruments and their use in the arts. In his training and artistic work alike, Rafał Zalech pursues the goal of combining composition and interpretation, classical and other musical styles. In so doing, he consciously relies on the inner-musical discourse in composition and sound and develops his own mode of bonding with the audience beyond the usual sonority and structures. 

Rafal Zalech has received scholarships from the Austrian Ministry of Culture, Thyll-Dürr Foundation, Mica Austria, the J. Windisch scholarship, and is a member of the Syl programme of the Tokyo Foundation. In 2017, he was awarded a starter scholarship by the Austrian Federal Chancellery (arts and culture) for the best graduates of art universities throughout Austria.