Marfa Baratava receives $10,000 to attend a music college in the US
The International Society of Bassists (ISB) has announced Marfa Baratava of Wroclaw, Poland, as the recipient of the 2026 Jane Little Scholarship.
The $10,000 scholarship, given annually to a female double bass major entering college as a freshman, was established in 2022 with the generous support of an anonymous donor.
The scholarship is given in honour and memory of Jane Little, former member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and celebrated as one of the longest serving professional orchestra musicians in the world.
Baratava was born in Minsk, Belarus. She began her musical education on violin when she was seven years old, then switched to the double bass at age fourteen.
She studied with Vladimir Pulenkov, entering competitions and performing in public during her youth. After relocating to Poland in 2021, Baratava continued her musical education while adapting to a new country, language and educational system. She studied under Marek Politański and continued her training with Czesław Kurtok at the Karol Szymanowski Music Lyceum.
Throughout her studies, Baratava has been actively involved in orchestral, chamber, and solo performance. She served as principal double bass in her school orchestra and has performed in ensembles and masterclasses and at festivals. In addition to classical music, Baratava has an interest in jazz, playing bass guitar in a big band and participating in jazz ensembles and collaborative projects.
After five years of studying double bass, Marfa has been accepted to study at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Eastman School of Music, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music.
The scholarship committee was chaired by Tom Knific and included Diana Gannett and Patricia Wetzel. Honorable mentions were awarded to Margaret Lynch of Indianapolis, IN, Lila Tasdemir of Farmington Hills, MI and Mia Bayardo of Midland, MI.
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