ABOUT

Hailed as “a bright new gamba star” (The Strad), Canadian cellist and viol player Caroline Nicolas enjoys an international career performing repertoire from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Equally at home in early and modern music, she performs with leading ensembles across Europe and North America, including The English Concert, Philharmonia Baroque, Kammerorchester Basel, Ars Lyrica Houston, Pacific MusicWorks, and New World Symphony. She has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Jordi Savall, William Christie, Rachel Podger, Harry Bicket, Andrea Marcon, and Kristian Bezuidenhout. Having recently completed her tenure as Music Director of New Baroque Orchestra, she now serves as Artistic Director of Ars Poetica.

Caroline has appeared at major festivals including the Boston Early Music Festival, Bach Festival Leipzig, and Styriarte, and at venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie, KKL Luzern, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Benaroya Hall. Her performances have also been broadcast on KING FM, KUHF, WDIY, and CCTV (China).

Her debut solo album, Pièces en solitude, was praised by Gramophone for its “understated beauty,” with the magazine noting that her performances “judge the music’s elasticity of form and tempo to perfection.” The recording was also featured in The Strad, Strings Magazine, and Early Music America. Upcoming engagements include Newport Classical, Gallery Concerts, Connecticut Early Music Festival, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Viva Bach Peterborough, TENET, Sonnambula, Parthenia, Houston Early Music, and Milwaukee Early Music Now. Her recent appearance with Emerald City Music was named a classical season “Top Pick” by The Seattle Times.

Caroline is a Fellow of The English Concert in America and a winner of The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance Concerto Competition, which led to her solo debut at Alice Tully Hall.

A dedicated educator, Caroline has taught at Yale University, the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Victoria, and the University of Washington. She has also led workshops for organizations including Viols West, the VDGSA Conclave, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Port Townsend Early Music Workshop. Her students have gone on to study at leading conservatories across North America and Europe, and her work on historical bowing techniques has been featured in Early Music America.

Born in Canada to a Taiwanese mother and a French Canadian father, Caroline studied with Phoebe Carrai at The Juilliard School and with Christophe Coin and Paolo Pandolfo at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel. She now lives in New York City with her husband, lutenist Kevin Payne.

PRESS

“Nicolas judges the music’s elasticity of form and tempo to perfection.”– Gramophone

“Angelic playing for sure” – BBC Radio 3

“A memorable debut presents a bright new gamba star.” – The Strad

“Nicolas plays with passion and originality … a deeply individual debut recording” – Early Music America

“the entire album breathes an air of quiet reverie… An album to be savoured” – ClicMusique! (France)

“a CD to welcome for some gorgeous repertoire expertly performed” – Stringendo (Australia)

“one of the finest gambists working today” - Gotham Early Music Scene

“None of this would have been possible without the steady, stylish and imaginative support from Caroline Nicolas on baroque cello and Jonathan Oddie. As unshowy in performance as the principals and their equals in nuance and expression both players helped lift the performances to another level.” - Review Vancouver

“Caroline Nicolas transformed from being supporting continuo player to exploring the grave and thoughtful slow movements with care and insight. The two Allegro movements sent her hands shooting up and down the neck of the instrument to as she built a lively give-and-take between the upper and lower registers.” - Review Vancouver

“Especially in the first movement the returning musical snippets from the theme repeated almost hypnotically through rich playing by … Caroline Nicolas, cello.” -Review Vancouver

TEACHING

A passionate educator, Caroline has taught at the University of Washington, the University of Victoria, the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, for Pacific Northwest Viols, Cascadia Viols, the Port Townsend Early Music Festival and the Pietra Ensemble di Musica in Taiwan. She has also served as music director of the New Baroque Orchestra. Her students have been accepted as music majors to such eminent conservatories as the Royal Academy of Music, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the University of Washington, and the Indiana Conservatory Jacobs School of Music. She is on faculty at the New York Conservatory of Music. Caroline can be reached for lessons or workshop inquiries via the contact page.

Caroline currently has ONE more spot in her online studio for a viola da gamba and/or Baroque cello student. Inquiries can be made via the contact page on this website.

STUDENT TESTIMONIALS

“...I was immediately impressed that there was no sign of any one-size-fits all approach to her teaching. She met each student where they were at, with carefully tailored next steps for each individual. In fact, she did this so skillfully that I was initially quite puzzled as to how such a young teacher could be so wise. Caroline has clearly attended carefully to learning from her students, improving her teaching skills with the same thoughtfulness and diligence that she applies to her performance skills. Compared to the half dozen violin teachers that I experienced as a youth, several features of Caroline’ s teaching stand out. First, she is very committed to teaching students how to develop efficient and effective practice skills, so she has given me some very valuable tips that I had never encountered in my previous training. She also takes some time to provide specific background on history and music theory that has enriched my understanding of pieces that I have been working on with her.” (M. Pultz)

“Caroline has been the most patient, positive and inspiring teacher I have ever had…Caroline has been consistently encouraging, accurately assessing strengths, weaknesses and goals to help me continue learning….Possibly the greatest gift Caroline teaches is that of the enormous beauty, privilege and potential of music to help our world. She is inspiring as a teacher and a human being.” (L. Harrison)

“I have learned so much from Caroline! She has an amazing passion for both performing and teaching that has rubbed off on me. As a performer she is inspiring and stunning to hear, and as a teacher has such depth of knowledge to pass on, yet an ever present sense of curiosity to learn new things and to discover new ways of thinking to add to her playing and that of her students. This contagious love of learning makes for fun lessons with a good balance between the physical and mental aspects of learning an instrument. 

Also, I appreciate the healthy practice attitude she has helped me find, which is such a huge aspect of having a sustainable performance career. As someone aiming for professional performance, I really appreciate this attention to the mental side of being a musician! Also, the way that she supports students with different goals is also very thoughtful; she is just as engaging to learn from for casual amateur players (like my mom!) and growing professionals.” (T. Roberts)

“She is a very encouraging, well-organized, and creative teacher. Under her tutelage, I have expanded my musical understanding and skills, and have enjoyed every step of the process. Caroline is well-informed in the neuroscience of learning and shares her knowledge with her students to help them understand the complexities of the learning process. She helps students set their own learning goals and create practice programs to measure their own progress. During my time as her student, I have taken both individual and consort lessons with her, and I have been part of an orchestra (the Seattle New Baroque Orchestra) which she directed and conducted. Because she herself is a musician who is constantly learning and often performing, she shares her own learning successes with her students to offer them new ways of experiencing the learning process. Her enthusiasm is always fresh and uplifting.” (A. Crane)

“What I most appreciate about Caroline as a teacher is her ability to be both structured in her approach and tune into what inspires the student. She has helped me completely revamp my practice skills and has given me insight as to how to self-direct what I need to practice and how to analyze my current issues.” (C.Chiong)

Documents:

Teaching Statement

Practice RX

Practice Notes

CONTACT