Introduction
Nickolas Kaynor is a versatile artist who currently serves as principal violist of both the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra and the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, and as a section violist of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra. He also performs regularly with ensembles such as the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Symphony, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra, among others. As a soloist with the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra, he has performed arrangements of Freddie Mercury’s Bohemian Rhapsody and Pete Townshend’s Who Are You?, and will perform the final two movements of Ayala Asherov’s Cycles of the Moon this November. Other solo appearances have included Béla Bartók’s Viola Concerto with the Chapman Orchestra and Gerald Cohen’s Uvtovo M’chadesh with the Florilegium Chamber Choir. An avid chamber musician, Nickolas has performed in ensembles such as the Chapman Duo, Tiemann Strings, the Semiosis Quartet, and the Starling Quartet, with whom he recently recorded Lispector, a song cycle by vocalist and composer Lacy Rose. His accolades include first prizes in the Wildflower International Recording Competition, the Frances Walton Competition, and the Chapman Concerto Competition, as well as second prize and honorable mention in the Ruth Widder String Quartet Competition. In 2022, Nickolas completed a dissertation on the Bartók Viola Concerto, concluding his doctoral studies at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Professor Daniel Avshalomov. This past summer he joined the Session 4 faculty at Point CounterPoint, marking a full-circle moment, as PCP was the first music camp he attended as a violist back in 2008. In his spare time, Nickolas enjoys transcribing and arranging music by inspiring artists such as Mister Rogers, J.S. Bach, and Cher, among others.
Education
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Manhattan School of Music
- 2017-2022 Doctor of Musical Arts in Classical Viola
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Manhattan School of Music
- 2015-2017 Master of Music in Classical Viola
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Chapman University
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2011 – 2015
Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance
minors in German Studies and University Honors Program
Experience
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Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra
- 2021 – present Principal Viola
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Binghamton Philharmonic
- 2021 – present Section Viola
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Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra
- 2025 – present Principal Viola
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Hartford Symphony Orchestra
- 2024 – present Section Viola
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Vermont Symphony Orchestra
- 2025 – present Section Viola
