Kurt Nikkanen

American violinist Kurt Nikkanen is an international soloist of the highest order. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, he began his violin studies at the age of three. At twelve he gave his Carnegie Hall debut, performing with the New York Youth Symphony and two years later he was invited by Zubin Mehta to perform the Paganini Concerto No.1 with the New York Philharmonic for a Young People's Concert. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he was a scholarship student of Dorothy DeLay. He has performed with many orchestras both in the U.S. and abroad, including the Symphony Orchestras of San Francisco, Dallas, and Cleveland, as well as the Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, and Berlin Radio Symphonie. His live recording of William Walton's Violin Concerto with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra was released on the Nimbus Alliance label in 2010 and was chosen as"Critics Choice for 2010" in Gramophone Magazine. In addition to his orchestral appearances, Kurt Nikkanen performs regularly both in the US and abroad with his wife, pianist Maria Asteriadou, presenting repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the present day. A sought-out teacher as well, Kurt Nikkanen regularly gives masterclasses in the US and abroad, is the Director of the International Piano Quintet at Kutztown University, and he serves on the Violin Faculty at New York University.
Since 2003 he is the Concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra.