He graduated from the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk. As a soloist and chamber musician, he focuses on 20thand 21st-century music. He has premiered several dozen works by contemporary composers and appeared at prestigious festivals such as Warsaw Autumn, Musica Polonica Nova in Wrocław, Festival of Premieres – Polish Modern Music in Katowice, Sacrum Profanum in Cracow, Unsound in New York, Beijing Modern, Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival, Ensemble Europa in Cologne, C3 in Berlin, Svensk Musikvår in Stockholm, Klang Festival in Copenhagen, Loop Festival in Brussels, Musiche Nuove in Palermo, Contrasts in Lviv, Arena in Riga, Iš Arti in Kaunas, Codes in Lublin, Musica Moderna in Łódź, Audio-Art in Cracow, Ad Libitum in Warsaw, New Music Days in Gdańsk, and Dialogue of Four Cultures in Łódź. Since 2002 he has been a member of Kwartludium ensemble, specialising in most recent music. With percussionist Paweł Nowicki he plays in a duo performing pieces specially commissioned by these musicians. As a soloist he has appeared with the Polish Radio Orchestra, the NOSPR Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, NFM Leopoldinum in Wrocław, and Berg Orchestra in Prague. He has recorded extensively for record labels (DUX, Requiem Records, Bôłt Records, Denovali Records, Touch), the radio (Polish Radio Channel Two, WDR3, Deutschlandfunk), and television (TVP Kultura). He has given performances in the United States, Australia, China, South Korea, as well as throughout Europe. 

Nowicki has received scholarships from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the Marshal of the Pomorskie Province, and the President of Gdańsk. Working at the Academy of Music in Gdańsk since 1995, he was granted the title of Professor of Musical Arts in 2023. Piotr Nowicki is the president of Foundation for New Music Kwartludium, which implements international artistic projects co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Swedish Arts Grants Committee, and the European Union.