Q&A with Frances, Emmanuel, and Elizabeth Borowsky
What's something that we should know about you?
We're siblings. If you've reading this, you probably already know that... but people sometimes come up to us after a performance and ask how we met. And, no, Frances and Emmanuel aren't twins -- they're actually 5 years apart! At any rate, this sibling dynamic makes all the difference in our performances!
Was there a specific event that inspired you to combine your talents as a family and become a trio?
Emmanuel: Our mother is a concert cellist and started us on our instruments. Our father has been very encouraging of our collaborative music making since the very beginning. Growing up, Elizabeth and I would create musical stories/narratives. First, four-hands on piano, and then she had me play on my violin. Eventually, Frances joined in. We would play patterns over and over again and gradually build off of them, Elizabeth did all the cool stuff while we adhered to her instructions of a four-note obstinate... At any rate, she was my accompanist for all lessons and recitals growing up, including through my college and graduate studies.
Frances: I recall playing simple tunes at house concerts. As our individual skill-sets increased, our involvement as performers with each other grew as well.
Elizabeth: We started performing together as a family for special occasions such as holiday celebrations
(in private home-performances for family and friends) and then presentations at local schools. Our first performance of Music from Around the World – the first composition we arranged for our entire family - was at the 1999 Maryland Arts Festival.
As we progressed as individual performers, we grew closer as musical partners. In 2000, we met American composer Jody Nagel at the World Cello Congress III. He wrote and dedicated “Six Harmonic Etudes” to me, Emmanuel, and Frances. This became our first real “big piece” as a trio. In 2004, he wrote another trio for us, “Fantasy Cantabile,” and in 2006, Frances and Mom performed the world-premiere of his concerto for two celli, “A Ride Through The Nebula,” at the International Cello Festival with the Towson University Orchestra. I am sure that his music – written specifically for us to play together – strongly influenced us in many ways, including the style of his compositions.
After a 2007 performance at the Dilsberg Castle in Germany, we were invited to return as Artists-in-Residence for three months the next summer. The time we spent there together during the summer of 2008 – practicing and performing at the castle as well as other concerts around Germany – really strengthened our collaborative skills and inspired our desire to compose together. This resulted in our first true collaborative work: Postcards from Dilsberg.
We're siblings. If you've reading this, you probably already know that... but people sometimes come up to us after a performance and ask how we met. And, no, Frances and Emmanuel aren't twins -- they're actually 5 years apart! At any rate, this sibling dynamic makes all the difference in our performances!
Was there a specific event that inspired you to combine your talents as a family and become a trio?
Emmanuel: Our mother is a concert cellist and started us on our instruments. Our father has been very encouraging of our collaborative music making since the very beginning. Growing up, Elizabeth and I would create musical stories/narratives. First, four-hands on piano, and then she had me play on my violin. Eventually, Frances joined in. We would play patterns over and over again and gradually build off of them, Elizabeth did all the cool stuff while we adhered to her instructions of a four-note obstinate... At any rate, she was my accompanist for all lessons and recitals growing up, including through my college and graduate studies.
Frances: I recall playing simple tunes at house concerts. As our individual skill-sets increased, our involvement as performers with each other grew as well.
Elizabeth: We started performing together as a family for special occasions such as holiday celebrations
(in private home-performances for family and friends) and then presentations at local schools. Our first performance of Music from Around the World – the first composition we arranged for our entire family - was at the 1999 Maryland Arts Festival.
As we progressed as individual performers, we grew closer as musical partners. In 2000, we met American composer Jody Nagel at the World Cello Congress III. He wrote and dedicated “Six Harmonic Etudes” to me, Emmanuel, and Frances. This became our first real “big piece” as a trio. In 2004, he wrote another trio for us, “Fantasy Cantabile,” and in 2006, Frances and Mom performed the world-premiere of his concerto for two celli, “A Ride Through The Nebula,” at the International Cello Festival with the Towson University Orchestra. I am sure that his music – written specifically for us to play together – strongly influenced us in many ways, including the style of his compositions.
After a 2007 performance at the Dilsberg Castle in Germany, we were invited to return as Artists-in-Residence for three months the next summer. The time we spent there together during the summer of 2008 – practicing and performing at the castle as well as other concerts around Germany – really strengthened our collaborative skills and inspired our desire to compose together. This resulted in our first true collaborative work: Postcards from Dilsberg.
How do you go about composing and arranging music together? Provide a few details about the process of composing new pieces or arranging and a bit about your unique collective creative process.
Frances: Ideally, we have a story, event, person... an image to describe in sound. Sometimes we bring motives (melodic ideas) that were composed independently of the cooperative effort (e.g. my motives formed the base of the HARDY trio), but many times our works evolve from improvisation together. Often, we will also consider ways to incorporate well-known themes by other composers into our works (if they are in public domain!).
Emmanuel: There’s a lot of trial and error and experimentation involved, also a lot of note-taking and recording and playback, and a LOT of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Elizabeth: First of all, someone presents an occasion for a new composition. Sometimes it’s our Dad – putting it on a program before it’s been written – and other times it’s a special concert theme or an experience we want to commemorate. Pressure makes diamonds... and it seems we compose best under pressure. The music usually evolves over time and often comes together at the very last minute!
Frances: Ideally, we have a story, event, person... an image to describe in sound. Sometimes we bring motives (melodic ideas) that were composed independently of the cooperative effort (e.g. my motives formed the base of the HARDY trio), but many times our works evolve from improvisation together. Often, we will also consider ways to incorporate well-known themes by other composers into our works (if they are in public domain!).
Emmanuel: There’s a lot of trial and error and experimentation involved, also a lot of note-taking and recording and playback, and a LOT of “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Elizabeth: First of all, someone presents an occasion for a new composition. Sometimes it’s our Dad – putting it on a program before it’s been written – and other times it’s a special concert theme or an experience we want to commemorate. Pressure makes diamonds... and it seems we compose best under pressure. The music usually evolves over time and often comes together at the very last minute!
How would you describe the experience of attending one of your performances?
Frances: I ́d say that we strive for a balance of diversity and cohesiveness. Diversity in eras and styles of works presented, diversity in sounds, and yet cohesiveness: stringing the works together in our own way. We strive to engage our audiences and put forth maximum energy in the hopes that we can all together have a really inspiring experience.
Emmanuel: We perform really cool, amazing music that’s really difficult, and really intense. Our audiences always tell us that there is something really special about our performances... [Click here to see what audiences say]
Elizabeth: We treat each performance as an opportunity to “win over” our audience and take them on a journey of the soul. I think the energy and commitment we have as individuals and as a group -- to the music, to our audiences, and to each other – really comes through.
Frances: I ́d say that we strive for a balance of diversity and cohesiveness. Diversity in eras and styles of works presented, diversity in sounds, and yet cohesiveness: stringing the works together in our own way. We strive to engage our audiences and put forth maximum energy in the hopes that we can all together have a really inspiring experience.
Emmanuel: We perform really cool, amazing music that’s really difficult, and really intense. Our audiences always tell us that there is something really special about our performances... [Click here to see what audiences say]
Elizabeth: We treat each performance as an opportunity to “win over” our audience and take them on a journey of the soul. I think the energy and commitment we have as individuals and as a group -- to the music, to our audiences, and to each other – really comes through.
Where did your family’s love of music begin, and what are some of the qualities of music in general that you all love and that continue to bond you together?
Emmanuel: Music is one of the few things that transforms my calm personality into a very intense, passionate, focused one... and also allows me to express myself in a way that is well-organized, well-versed, articulate, and concise.
Elizabeth: I love that music brings not only us together, but brings other people together and stimulates their thinking, feeling, and creativity. A concert is an active and positive experience for the audience. Attending a live concert requires not only good listening skills, but also imagination and creativity. It’s such a highly-focused experience that has very few additional stimuli … so contrary to nearly any other experience these days, be it a TV show or movie, or the bombardment of stimuli thrown at us when we are out shopping. Our world is geared towards short attention spans, and music – especially of the instrumental classical genre – forces us to focus longer, think more, feel more, and dig deeper down inside us. There is not much (if anything) happening with lights, special effects, camera angles, editing, etc. It’s real, it’s live, and it’s very much a journey for the soul.
In terms of how music bonds us together, I would say that there are two main categories:
(I) Music itself: the pursuit of a musical career (from practicing and lessons, to competitions and reviews) means that we have a strong emotional understanding of each other’s foundation.
(II) Experiences through music: we have so many shared experiences connected to traveling around the world and performing together
Frances: My love of music certainly began with my parents.. It has grown and blossomed into something that allows me to be able to explore emotions and thoughts that oftentimes are not possible to put into words. Through music, we are able to have audience members experience these emotions. When we bare our souls to the world in performance, it results in something that can't be replicated, and is in a way addicting. Addicting, to be so raw, to be so honest, and to be so affecting. And it is priceless to have my family understand and share every aspect of that.
Emmanuel: Music is one of the few things that transforms my calm personality into a very intense, passionate, focused one... and also allows me to express myself in a way that is well-organized, well-versed, articulate, and concise.
Elizabeth: I love that music brings not only us together, but brings other people together and stimulates their thinking, feeling, and creativity. A concert is an active and positive experience for the audience. Attending a live concert requires not only good listening skills, but also imagination and creativity. It’s such a highly-focused experience that has very few additional stimuli … so contrary to nearly any other experience these days, be it a TV show or movie, or the bombardment of stimuli thrown at us when we are out shopping. Our world is geared towards short attention spans, and music – especially of the instrumental classical genre – forces us to focus longer, think more, feel more, and dig deeper down inside us. There is not much (if anything) happening with lights, special effects, camera angles, editing, etc. It’s real, it’s live, and it’s very much a journey for the soul.
In terms of how music bonds us together, I would say that there are two main categories:
(I) Music itself: the pursuit of a musical career (from practicing and lessons, to competitions and reviews) means that we have a strong emotional understanding of each other’s foundation.
(II) Experiences through music: we have so many shared experiences connected to traveling around the world and performing together
Frances: My love of music certainly began with my parents.. It has grown and blossomed into something that allows me to be able to explore emotions and thoughts that oftentimes are not possible to put into words. Through music, we are able to have audience members experience these emotions. When we bare our souls to the world in performance, it results in something that can't be replicated, and is in a way addicting. Addicting, to be so raw, to be so honest, and to be so affecting. And it is priceless to have my family understand and share every aspect of that.
What do you love most about the process of preparing or presenting a program?
Elizabeth: Doing any of these activities together (composing, recording, or performing) usually entails that we have to find a common emotional foundation. That’s easier and more natural on some days than others. There are definitely days that we get to a point in a rehearsal and don't feel like speaking with each other… but by the end of a piece, we have “talked out” our differences and are in a team mindset! Similarly, performances are intense emotional experiences. Going through it together is like going into a sporting event with a small team. We do our best to support each other and it feels great when our goals are accomplished.
Emmanuel: Once we get past the initial learning process of a new piece, we enjoy shaping and forming our interpretation and making it really personal. We listen to ourselves (recording our practice session) and also listen to recordings of musicians we admire. We take our performance to our Mom and/or teachers for feedback. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work in performance but exploring is incredibly emotionally and intellectually stimulating.
Frances: We also love meeting our audiences after concerts and hearing how they perceived the performance, our compositions, and our style. It means a lot to make a personal connection with them after the concert and learn more about them, too!
Elizabeth: Doing any of these activities together (composing, recording, or performing) usually entails that we have to find a common emotional foundation. That’s easier and more natural on some days than others. There are definitely days that we get to a point in a rehearsal and don't feel like speaking with each other… but by the end of a piece, we have “talked out” our differences and are in a team mindset! Similarly, performances are intense emotional experiences. Going through it together is like going into a sporting event with a small team. We do our best to support each other and it feels great when our goals are accomplished.
Emmanuel: Once we get past the initial learning process of a new piece, we enjoy shaping and forming our interpretation and making it really personal. We listen to ourselves (recording our practice session) and also listen to recordings of musicians we admire. We take our performance to our Mom and/or teachers for feedback. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work in performance but exploring is incredibly emotionally and intellectually stimulating.
Frances: We also love meeting our audiences after concerts and hearing how they perceived the performance, our compositions, and our style. It means a lot to make a personal connection with them after the concert and learn more about them, too!
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