The Academy of Music in Kraków is one of the oldest music higher education units in Poland and in Europe. It was founded as a Conservatory by the Music Society in Kraków – an organization that came into being owing to the efforts of Duchess Marcelina Czartoryska and Władysław Żeleński in February 1888. The Academy of Music in Kraków (Polish: Akademia Muzyczna w Krakowie) is a conservatory located in central Kraków, Poland. It is the alma mater of the renowned Polish contemporary composer Krzysztof Penderecki, who was also its Rector for 15 years. The Academy is the only one in Poland to have two winners of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw (Halina Czerny-Stefańska and Adam Harasiewicz) as well as a few further prize-winners among its alumni