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Frances first drew the attention of great cello masters as a highly gifted and expressive young musician at the age of seven. Her meeting with legendary cellist Zara Nelsova at the World Cello Congress III was featured in a documentary film.
Since then, she has performed throughout the USA as well as Canada, Mexico, Israel, Jordan, Indonesia, Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Germany, Poland, and Norway. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Young German Symphony Orchestra, and Towson University Orchestra with conductors such as Klaus Arp and Brenda Leach.
Frances hails from an exceptional musical family. Her mother (Cecylia Barczyk) is a cellist and professor and her father has used music as a tool in pursuing international relations. She frequently performs together with her brother (violinist Emmanuel Borowsky) and sister (pianist Elizabeth Borowsky). Together, they are called The Young American Virtuosi. Frances is featured on “Musical Favorites of All Times,” their 2004 CD recording (ICRecords).
Shortly after meeting Frances at the World Cello Congress III, American composer Jody Nagel wrote and dedicated “Six Harmonic Etudes for a Young Piano Trio” to her and her siblings. In 2004, he wrote another Trio for this ensemble, “Fantasy Cantabile.” In 2006, Frances and her mother performed the world-premiere of Nagel's concerto for two celli, “A Ride Through The Nebula,” at the International Cello Festival in Baltimore, Maryland.
Frances has studied cello with her mother since she was four years old. She has also been mentored by cellists Janos Starker, Irene Sharp, Zara Nelsova, Alexander Huelshoff, Gunnar Kvaran, and Michael Flaksman. At the age of fourteen, she was admitted to the Honor's College of Towson University as a full-time student, and was granted a full scholarship. She is the winner of the Peggy Friedman Gordon Competition (First Prize, 2008), Young Casal Prize (from the International Friends of the Cello) and Maryland State Music Teachers Association String Festival Competition (First Prize, 2006).
Most recently, Frances performed Pre-Olympic concerts in China, was awarded an Artist-in-Residence grant by the Heidelberg Arts Council (Germany), and performed the celebrated Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Young German Symphony Orchestra during their U.S. concert tour.