PROF. FRANCES BOROWSKY
Cello, Chamber Music & Executive Director
Cello, Chamber Music & Executive Director
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With a career that has taken her around the world, Frances Borowsky has established herself as a captivating and versatile cellist of her generation. Since age seven, she has performed in over thirty countries throughout Europe, Asia, North America, and the Middle East, including in major venues such as the Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, and Penderecki European Music Centre and as soloist with orchestras in China, Lithuania, Poland, and the USA. Borowsky performed her New York debut at Carnegie Hall at age twelve a recipient of the Erick Friedman Prize for Outstanding Young Musicians (performing together with her siblings, known as a trio as The Young American Virtuosi) then returned in 2018 as a featured soloist at the Stern Auditorium for the celebrations of Antonin Dvorak’s American legacy.
Alongside her performing career, Frances is a dedicated educator and mentor. She has taught at Lebanon Valley College, Elizabethtown College, and the Community College of Baltimore County and maintains a private studio in Baltimore. She currently serves as co-director of the Intermuse Music Institute and Festival, a summer solo and chamber music program for outstanding young musicians. Frances’ passion for music extends beyond performance. Inspired by her experience as musician-in-residence at the Oberlin Acoustics Workshop, she has apprenticed with master luthiers nationwide and recently opened her own shop, Grace Albert Strings, in Baltimore. She uses her dual expertise to empower other musicians, helping them achieve their highest performance potential through both their playing and instrument selection and care. Frances presented on this topic at the 2025 American String Teachers Association National Conference in Atlanta. Frances holds performance degrees with distinction from Towson University (BM), the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University (MM), Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany (MM), and University of Maryland (DMA). Her major mentors have been Cecylia Barczyk and Amit Peled. Frances plays on a 2009 cello by Wolfgang Schnabl with a Tête-bêche hybrid bow by Gilles Nehr. Outside of music, she enjoys hiking and nature photography, driving her 1994 Miata, and participating in the Hunt Valley Horsepower car meet on Saturday mornings. Her favorite road is the Back of the Dragon in Tazewell, Virginia. She felt like she was on cloud nine during recent performance on a Southwest flight, where she shared Bach’s Prelude from Suite No. 1 with fellow passengers. |
