 Nowak was honoured with the Distinguished Teacher Award during his tenure as Professor at the BGSU University in Ohio, and the title of "Honorary Professor" was bestowed upon him by the University of Alberta.After studying conducting, composition and violin at the Music Academy in Poznań, Nowak was awarded a doctorate fellowship at the Eastman School of Music.He honed his skills at Tanglewood on a Serge Koussevitzky Fellowship with such masters as Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Erich Leinsdorf and Igor Markevitch, before assisting Kurt Masur with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.