Charlotte Strings Academy - About The Teachers

The most affordable and motivating music program in Charlotte! Virtual and in-studio classes.

Text: (704) 315-5944
E-mai: charlottestringsacademy@gmail.com

Peter Swic
was born and grew up in Warsaw, Poland where he began his violin and piano studies at the age of seven. He won first prize in the Warsaw Viola Competition when he was eighteen years old. During his college years, Peter was accepted into the Jeunesses Musicales World orchestra after taking an international audition. He performed with this orchestra for two seasons on tours to South America and Scandinavia under the baton of Charles Dutoit. He also received scholarships and performed with festival orchestras in Melbourne, Australia and Basel, Switzerland while still in school. He earned his MA of Arts degree in Viola Performance Cum Laude from F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in 1991.

After graduation, Peter won a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts. He was privileged to work with Yo-Yo Ma and Joel Krosnick (Juilliard String Quartet), and to perform with Maestro Seiji Ozawa and Marek Janowski. Peter also received a scholarship to study at Duquesne University with the Pittsburgh Symphony principal violist , Randolph Kelly. During his years at Duquesne, Peter performed with the Wheeling and Westmoreland Symphonies and with the Orchestra Nova as principal violist. In 1993, he and his future wife, also a Polish violist, won international auditions to play with the Panama Symphony in Central America. Drawn by their passion for travel, they went to Panama for one year. Peter held the position of Assistant Principal Violist there. They later returned to the United States where Peter earned a scholarship to complete his Certificate of Graduate Studies at the University of South Carolina. While living in Columbia, the Swic's both performed with the Greenville, Savannah, Augusta, Asheville, Knoxville and Charleston Symphony Orchestras, and with the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra.

When Peter and Anna moved to Charlotte, he started performing with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and became a faculty member at Davidson College, Gardner-Webb University and UNC Charlotte. Peter established Charlotte Strings Academy where he and his wife teach privately.

Anna Maksimiuk-Swic
began playing violin and piano at age 7 while growing up in Warsaw, Poland. Throughout her professional education she studied a wide spectrum of musical subjects including theory, harmony, history, ear training, musical instruments and acoustics. She graduated from the Elsner School of Music and received a Master of Arts Degree in Viola Performance from F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland. She also studied the Artist Diploma Program at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Swic attended several international music festivals in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, France, Great Britain and Australia. She performed with a large number of orchestras, including the Orchestra Nova, Westmoreland and Weeling Symphonies in the Pittsburgh area, as well as the South Carolina Philharmonic, Charleston, Savannah, Asheville, Greenville, Knoxville and Augusta Symphony Orchestras. She is also a former member of the Panama National Symphony.

Anna's 25 years of teaching experience include the position of a String Orchestra teacher at Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy and After-School Piano/Violin Studio instructor at Charlotte Preparatory School. She frequently performs with Opera Carolina, local orchestras and church chamber ensembles. Mrs. Swic works as a freelance musician, while teaching at Charlotte Strings Academy.