Leadership
IMIF-USA was founded by President of Intermuse Performing Artists Bureau, Dr. Charles H. Borowsky and his wife, renowned cellist Prof. Cecylia Barczyk. IMIF-USA is organized under the auspices of Intermuse and the International Friends of Music, in collaboration with the American String Teachers Association and Mount St. Mary's University.
Cecylia Barczyk (Artistic Director)
Prof. Cecylia Barczyk has achieved international recognition as a complete artist, successful teacher, and great humanitarian. She has given concerts, recitals, and master classes throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas, including appearances with prominent orchestras in Baltimore, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Bucharest, Budapest, Cracow, Ho Chi Minh City, London, Moscow, New York, Prague, Salvador, Seoul, Shanghai, Sofia, St. Petersburg, Taiwan, Tel Aviv, Tianjin, Tokyo, and Warsaw. Ms. Barczyk has frequently performed on radio and television in the USA and abroad. Her recordings have been highly valued by experts and greatly appreciated by music lovers in many lands. She won top prizes in prestigious music competitions including the Danczowski Cello Competition (Poznan), the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition (Budapest), the Tchaikovsky International Cello Competition (Moscow), the Aldo Parisot International Competition (Brazil), the J.S. Bach International Competition (Leipzig), the Cassado International Cello Competition (Florence), and the W.C. Byrd Young Artists Competition (Michigan). For her musical and pedagogical achievements, she has received awards and honors from professional, cultural, and government institutions in China, Germany, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Poland, and the USA. The Maryland Chapter of the American String Teachers Association named her “Teacher of the Year” (1995, 2005). The Tianjin Conservatory of Music (China) granted her the title Distinguished Honorary Professor. The International Friends of the Cello Association granted her the Award for Great Achievements in Cello Music, and the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland gave her the Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Society and Culture. She has studied at the Chopin Conservatory in Warsaw, Tchaikowsky Conservatory in Moscow, and Yale School of Music with Kazimierz Wilkomirski, Natalya Gutman and Aldo Parisot. Since 1983, she has taught at Towson University, continuing her solo career while educating young cellists from virtually every part of the globe. (Click here to go to Cecylia Barczyk's official website).
Charles Borowsky (Founding Director)
Prof. Charles H. Borowsky, Ph.D. has been internationally acknowledged for his many academic, educational, and leadership achievements. He received several distinctions, awards and honorary degrees from professional, social, and cultural organizations both in the USA and abroad. Borowsky has authored numerous articles and books in the areas of social movements and change, politics and religion, development and quality of life, sociology of culture, and sociology of youth, published in America, Europe, and Asia. He has been on the faculty of prominent universities including Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Social Studies, and the University of Maryland and has lectured in 66 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 2002, UNESCO/International Music Council published Dr. Borowsky’s works "Creativity and Innovation in Music" and “The Function of Music In Society.” Currently, Dr. Charles H. Borowsky is the President of Intermuse Performing Artists’ Bureau, and also the elected President of the International Friends of Music Association and Senior Advisor to the public and private organization in the USA and abroad.
Elizabeth Borowsky (Assistant Director)
Elizabeth Borowsky has been lauded as an outstanding soloist, collaborative artist, composer, and teacher. She has performed concerts and recitals in major concert halls and prestigious music festivals in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Bosendorfer Halls, the Beethoven Haus, Strathmore Hall, the Kennedy Center, Klavierwoche International, the Maryland Arts Festival, the UNESCO World Music Conference in Amman, the Torun International Arts Festival, and Savona's Concerti di Primavera, and has performed as soloist with orchestras including the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Young German Symphony Orchestra, Lublin Philarmonic, Polish Camerata Orchestra, Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, and Israeli Soloists Orchestra. She has recorded several CDs and DVDs for ICRecords. She is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the Erick Friedman Prize for Outstanding Young Musicians, Chopin Foundation of the United States' Scholarship for Young Pianists, Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship, and William Donald Schaefer Scholarship (Maryland International Education Association). She received full scholarships for her studies at Indiana University, Towson University, and Trinity College of Music (London). She has been mentored by renowned pianists and teachers, including Yonty Solomon, Arnaldo Cohen, Ann Schein, Andrzej Jasinski, and Reynaldo Reyes. An engaging teacher herself, she has presented masterclasses in the USA, Germany, and Vietnam, and taught at as an Assistant Instructor at Indiana University (2006-2007). She is currently on the faculty of the Maryland Conservatory of Music and ARTIST Music Education. She is active in promoting excellence in education through music and frequently presents educational concerts in schools. She has held leadership positions in numerous organizations and is currently director of a non-profit scholarship program for young women in the Greater Baltimore region. (Click here to go to Elizabeth Borowsky's Official Website)