2008 Woodie Awards
A family affair with music
Baltimore-based classical musicians travel to China as family to partake in Summer Olympic music program
Tyler Waldman
Arts | 4/28/08
It's hard to find a family more musically gifted than the Borowskys.
They've been given a rock star reception in countless countries. International press has given them rave reviews.
It takes a while to realize when reading the glowing testimonials, however, that the music they're playing isn't the next big thing.
It's classical.
They've traveled the world, but the Borowsky family calls Baltimore home and all of them have some connections to Towson University.
Recently, they performed in China from April 1 to April 15 for a program called "Great Harmony: One World, One Dream, One Family."
The concert featured original music and arrangements of classical music from around the globe, from "Amazing Grace" to "Ode to Joy" to the Chinese folk song "Jasmine Flower."
The concerts were organized in Beijing and Tianjin to commemorate the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The family, called "American Virtuosi" by international press, consists of former Towson faculty member and author Charles Borowsky, cello professor Cecylia Barczyk-Borowsky, 2005 alumna and world-renowned pianist Elizabeth Borowsky, 15-year-old cellist Frances-Grace Borowsky, and Indiana University sophomore violinist Emmanuel Borowsky.
China was a bit of a culture shock for them. Cecylia explained that the country had changed greatly since her first visit there in 1984.
"I was shocked," she said. "Cities like Tianjin are a little like Manhattan but ten times the size. The architecture's just amazing. It is beautiful. Although there are modern skyscrapers...each building is very appealing, visually. I found it very different and fascinating, something I didn't expect."
The food also caught her off-guard.
"They served duck, and there was this rotating thing. These things just kept coming on plates. This one thing looked very interesting, so I ate it then," she said. "So the person next to me says, 'Oh, do you know that this is the head of the duck you are eating?' And I say, 'Yes, it has a beak, indeed!'"
They've been given a rock star reception in countless countries. International press has given them rave reviews.
It takes a while to realize when reading the glowing testimonials, however, that the music they're playing isn't the next big thing.
It's classical.
They've traveled the world, but the Borowsky family calls Baltimore home and all of them have some connections to Towson University.
Recently, they performed in China from April 1 to April 15 for a program called "Great Harmony: One World, One Dream, One Family."
The concert featured original music and arrangements of classical music from around the globe, from "Amazing Grace" to "Ode to Joy" to the Chinese folk song "Jasmine Flower."
The concerts were organized in Beijing and Tianjin to commemorate the run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
The family, called "American Virtuosi" by international press, consists of former Towson faculty member and author Charles Borowsky, cello professor Cecylia Barczyk-Borowsky, 2005 alumna and world-renowned pianist Elizabeth Borowsky, 15-year-old cellist Frances-Grace Borowsky, and Indiana University sophomore violinist Emmanuel Borowsky.
China was a bit of a culture shock for them. Cecylia explained that the country had changed greatly since her first visit there in 1984.
"I was shocked," she said. "Cities like Tianjin are a little like Manhattan but ten times the size. The architecture's just amazing. It is beautiful. Although there are modern skyscrapers...each building is very appealing, visually. I found it very different and fascinating, something I didn't expect."
The food also caught her off-guard.
"They served duck, and there was this rotating thing. These things just kept coming on plates. This one thing looked very interesting, so I ate it then," she said. "So the person next to me says, 'Oh, do you know that this is the head of the duck you are eating?' And I say, 'Yes, it has a beak, indeed!'"
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