Olga Podgaiskaya (b. 1981) is a composer and organist.
She studied composition at the Belarusian State Academy of Music in Minsk and has since written a wide range of works, including operas, music theatre, choral pieces, orchestral and chamber compositions, and music for film, which are performed worldwide.
Her favorite genre is symphonic works, but she particularly excels in compositions for solo organ or organ in combination with other instruments.
Podgaiskaya’s works have been performed at festivals such as "Mute Nights," Beethovenfest Bonn, Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, the Salzburg Festival, and others.
She is a fellow of the Polish Ministry of Culture’s "Gaude Polonia" program (2016, 2022) and was a finalist in the film composers’ program "Envision Sound" (Kyiv, 2019).
In 2021, she collaborated with the dance company “Sasha Waltz & Guests” during a composer residency, which resulted in the dance project “In B.”
Her critically acclaimed opera “King Stakh’s Wild Hunt” (commissioned by the Belarus Free Theater and Barbican Centre) premiered at the Barbican Centre in London in September 2023.
She is a member and lead composer of the contemporary music ensemble “Five-Storey Ensemble.” She is also the organizer and music director of the contemporary music and silent film festival “Kinemo” in Belarus. In addition to her composing career, she is an active performer, giving concerts both as a soloist and as part of chamber ensembles.
The composer of music for the productions of directors: Simon Werdelis, Juri Divakov, Natalia Kaliada, Sveta Ben, Oksana Gaiko.
Since 2021, she has been a resident of Poland and lives in Warsaw.