Graduate of Emmanuel Séjourné’s class at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, Nowicki has been a member of Kwartludium contemporary music ensemble since 2002. He has performed at major contemporary music festivals in Poland as well as abroad (WDR Cologne Festival, New York’s Unsound Festival, Nuove Musiche at Palermo’s Teatro Massimo, the Daegu International Contemporary Music Festival in South Korea, Iš Arti Contemporary Music Festival in Kaunas, Randspiele Berlin, Musica Viva in Lisbon, and Beijing Modern Music Festival). As a chamber musician, he has given performances in such prestigious venues as London’s Southbank Centre Royal Festival Hall, New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Lviv National Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, and NOSPR Katowice. He took part in a performance of the iconic minimalist composition Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich, presented as part of the “Kwadrofonik and Guests” project.

As a music life organiser, Nowicki is the vice-chairman of the Foundation for New Music Kwartludium. He was also the curator of New Music Days in Gdańsk (2016), the producer, composer and coordinator of the album release Paweł Nowicki 3 City Ensemble – Tides (co-funded by ZAiKS Society of Authors, STOART, the President of Gdańsk, the Marshal’s Office, and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage). Since 2013 Nowicki has performed at the Warsaw Autumn, presenting numerous premieres of solo and chamber works.

With pianist Piotr Nowicki they appear as Nowicki/Nowicki Duo, playing many pieces written specially for them. 2023 saw the release by DUX of their CD Varia, featuring world premiere recordings of works by such Polish composers as Tadeusz Wielecki, Artur Kroschel, Maciej Jabłoński, Piotr Peszat, Piotr Jędrzejczyk, Magdalena Gorwa, and Andrzej Dziadek. Nowicki also creates theatre and film music, collaborating since 2012 with Miniatura Theatre in Gdańsk (music for Michał Derlatka’s Fahrenheit and What’s Up with the Devil) and taking part in the recording of Maciej Cieślak’s music for Bartosz Konopka’s well-known documentary Rabbit à la Berlin.

Nowicki has won awards in such international contemporary music contests as Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Rotterdam and the International Vibraphone Competition in Clermond-Ferrand. He dedicates much time to educational work. He conducted contemporary music workshops for elementary and middle school students in Australia (with Kwartludium, January 2016), and was elected “Teacher of the Year”in the national competition for the best lesson on Polish music, held by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw (October 2018). In 2022 he received the President of Gdańsk Award for his teaching achievements. In 2020, Nowicki obtained a DMA doctoral degree from the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk.