For Dr. Mark Nowakowski, seeing his newest album rise to the top of Amazon’s Digital New Releases chart in Classical Music was a moment of gratitude more than surprise.
“I hit refresh one evening, and there it was,” said Nowakowski, associate professor of music at 91Ƭ at Stark. “When this happened the first time several years ago with Metanoia, I was ecstatic. I was calmer this time, but certainly grateful that it had happened again.”
Nowakowski’s newest release, The Seven Last Words of Christ, reached No. 1 in early June, adding another milestone to his accomplished career that includes the albums Metanoia (2023) and Blood Forgotten (2017).
The album was commissioned by Polish conductor Monika Konopczynska and her Orkiestra Camerata Stargard, and was performed and recorded in Polish basilicas and cathedrals around Poland.
“Konopczynska wanted a sacred work which she could bring into one of the beautiful churches in the Stargard area,” Nowakowski said. “Of course, I was intimidated, as there have been many fine settings and meditations upon these paradigmatic words in the past.”
Rather than attempt a grand orchestral approach, Nowakowski embraced a more contemplative style for chamber orchestra and vocal soloist. He focused on the emotional immediacy of Christ’s final words while allowing the instrumental passages to explore the deeper meanings and themes contained within each statement.
“I just hope to take the listener, whatever their metaphysical beliefs, on an encounter with these messages that are so important to me,” he said.
The project represented a departure from his previous recordings. Blood Forgotten featured string works and marked his first experience helping to self-produce an album, while Metanoia brought together favorite recordings from a five-year period into a cohesive narrative.
“What makes The Seven Last Words of Christ exciting for me is that it is the first album where I have been able to write for such large forces and record them in these beautiful Polish basilicas and cathedrals,” Nowakowski said. “It has become my favorite album and the one I’m most excited to share with people.”
Bringing the album to life required years of work. After agreeing on the program in 2024, Nowakowski composed three pieces, traveling to Poland to rehearse, premiere and record each work. He then handled all of the editing, production and post-production himself.
“Part of what has made three albums in a relatively short period of time possible is that I can cut a project budget in half by doing my own technical work,” he said. “As a result, I highly suggest that young composers become familiar with the tech side of things, which is what I teach at Stark.”
The intersection between creativity and teaching is central to how he views his role at Kent 91Ƭ Stark.
“I am an artist-teacher,” Nowakowski said. “The artist comes first. If the artist is neglected and the activity which animates me is not taken seriously, then the teaching will necessarily suffer as well. We can’t teach what we don’t do.”
He credits his students with helping fuel his own creative process.
“I have incredible students who are constantly bringing amazing new ideas to me,” he said. “I learn a great deal from watching them search for their own musical breakthroughs, and observing their progress always inspires me to go back and do my own composing with fresh energy.”
Nowakowski hopes students see his success as proof that creative careers are attainable.
“One of the biggest challenges we face as professors today is convincing our students that they can take the chance and pursue the career they have dreamed of,” he said. “I’m the son of blue-collar immigrants and began college absolutely unprepared to be a music major. So, if an underprepared guy from nowhere could persevere long enough to build some manner of career, then so can they. Do the work.”
As for what comes next, he has several new projects on the horizon, including a work titled A Hymn for the Victims of Communism in Poland, a Rorate Ordinary and film scoring for historical documentaries by Patrick Ney.
He is not yet thinking about his fourth album.
“I know that this will materialize on its own when the time is right,” he said.
For more information about Kent 91Ƭ Stark’s Music Technology program, visit www.kent.edu/stark/music-technology.