Drs. Usarek & Topper String Studio

A native of Wroclaw, Poland, Alicja Irena Usarek is a graduate of the Krakow Music Academy, and the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, Germany, and in Dcember, 2000 received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Her principal teachers were Eberhard Feltz, Zbigniew Szlezer, Eduard Melkus, Kurt-Christian Stier, Vincent Frittelli and Eliot Chapo. Dr. Usarek has enjoyed a varied performing career as a solo recitalist, chamber player, and an orchestra musician. During her years in Europe she performed a solo concerto/recital for radio broadcast in Ansbach, Germany, earned Honorable Mention at the String Quartet Competition in Budapest, Hungary and was a medal recipient from the Szymanowski Solo Competition in Krakow, Poland. While working toward her master and doctoral degrees Alicja Usarek was a first violinist in the Chamber Orchestra in Venice, Italy, and has performed with the Krakow Radio Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic (internship), the Austin Symphony and Civic Choir Orchestra, and the San Antonio Symphony. She has served on the faculty of the City Music School in Ingolstadt, Germany. In August 2001 Dr. Usarek-Topper was appointed as Assistant Dean at the Valdosta Campus of Georgia Military College. From 2002-2008, she served as Director of Strings at Valwood College Preparatory School and was appointed as Assistant Professor at Valdosta State University. During her tenure at VSU, she performed with the faculty string quartet. Dr. Usarek-Topper has soloed with the Central Florida Symphony.

Dr. Usarek’s musical expertise is not confined to violin performance. Having scored successes in the field of Musicology, she discovered Wagnerian influences in the early compositions of the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Her article “Béla Bartók’s 1907 Violin Concerto: In the Spirit of Tristan” is published by the International Journal of Musicology. She has lectured at the National American Musicological Conference in Kansas City, the Southern Chapter College Music Society Conference, Rice University, and has lectured and performed at the Valdosta State University Bartók Conference. Dr. Usarek was recently awarded a research grant for continued Bartók scholarly investigation and had just completed a book review on Bartók Perspectives for IJM.