Born into a family of musicians, pianist Nikolai Nesterov is currently in his first year of a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the University of Montreal, where he studies with Professor Henry Kramer. He previously completed his Bachelor of Music degree in performance at the University  of Calgary. An  alumnus of the Mount Royal Conservatory’s Academy of Music for the Gifted Youth, Nikolai also graduated from  its  Advanced  Performance  Program.  His  most  recent  teachers  include  Dr.  Jani Parsons, Marilyn Engle, and his father, Dmitry Nesterov. 

Since  2012,  Nikolai  has  been  an  annual  prize  and  scholarship  winner  at  the  Calgary Performing Arts Festival as well as the Canadian Music Competition. In 2022 he became the inaugural recipient of the Gordon Bell Scholarship in Music and Student Experience. For two consecutive years, he was selected for the Young Artists Development Program of Calgary’s Pro Musica where he gained valuable learning and performing experiences. In  the  summer  of  2023,  Nikolai  had  the  opportunity  to  participate  at the  Gloria  Artis Festival in Vienna, Austria, where he  also made his debut performance in the  Kleiner Ehrbar Saal. During his stay there he had the chance to work with renowned professors such as Lilya Zilberstein, Anna Malikova and Claudius Tanski. In 2024 he was selected as one of the winners of the RBC Concerto Competition at the University of Calgary.

Most recently, he made his debut performance of the first movement of Brahms’ Piano Concerto  No.  1  in  D  minor  with  the  Calgary  Philharmonic  Orchestra.  Nikolai  also appeared as a soloist at the 2023 ProArts Society Concert Series, and the 2024 Music @ Noon Series at Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church. Additionally, he performs frequently alongside  his  parents,  pianist  Dmitry  Nesterov  and  violinist  Olga  Kotova.  Recent performances of them together include the “Stingray Classical Live at the King Eddy” concert series in 2020, and the ProArts Society Concert Series in 2019. Between 2016 and 2020,  Nikolai  was  a  three-time  runner-up  at  the  Calgary  Concerto  Competition. Furthermore, Nikolai is also an active member of the Peaks + Prairies Ensemble, founded by his brother, Lev Nesterov.

Nikolai has also performed and participated at summer music programs such as Orford Musique in Quebec, Alberta PianoFest, and the Comox Summer Youth Music Camp in British  Columbia.  He  had  the  privilege  of  working  with  many  renowned  musicians including,  but  not  limited  to,  Evelyn  Brancart,  David  Jalbert,  Rolf  Bertsch,    Jason Cutmore, Frederic Chiu, Jarome Lowenthal,  Ursula Oppens,  Orli Shaham, and Steven Lubin.

Nikolai  is  passionate  about  teaching  piano  and  music  theory,  as  well  as  regularly volunteering by performing for seniors at various Calgary and area senior homes. Besides music, Nikolai enjoys computer programming, the outdoors, and photography.

A versatile artist, Lev Nesterov is a chamber and orchestral musician, arts administrator, artistic director, arranger, instructor, and concert producer striving to create new artistic initiatives in the community.

As a violinist, Lev has performed throughout Canada at numerous music institutions, festivals and concert series, including Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Scotia Festival of Music, National Music Centre, and has recently made his solo and chamber recital debuts at National Art Centre’s Fourth Stage in Ottawa.

Lev is a graduate of the universities of Ottawa and Calgary, where his principal music teachers were Yehonatan Berick, Joan Barrett and Edmond Agopian. In post-graduate studies, Lev completed the Arts Administration and Cultural Management program at Toronto’s Humber College.

Lev is the founder and artistic director of Peaks + Prairies Productions in Alberta. Previously, he also spearheaded the Ottawa Winter Music Festival.

Coming soon.

Julian Hae Yoon Kwoun is a composer, arranger, transcriber, and conductor whose work spans across multiple genres; including classical, jazz, popular, folk, electroacoustic, instrumental and vocal. His most advanced skillsets lay on arrangements and orchestration, keeping a keen eye on the importance of “arranging FOR the players themselves.” As a composer, the environmental surroundings and happenings are what inspires him the most within his works. As a Korean-American, Korean folk music and jazz are used extensively for his compositions. Having been collaborating with various ensembles as a freelance composer and arranger, this has allowed him to conduct his own works and help expand the repertories of the ensembles individually unique to them. An avid enthusiast for handwritten scores, Julian greatly enjoys the process of transcribing scores for the sake of instrumentalists alike. Having tried various instruments throughout his youth and career, this has greatly enhanced his musical ability during his mandatory military service as band composer for the Republic of Korea Air Force Band (ROKAF).

Julian holds a Master of Music (MM) in Music Composition (2024) from Chicago College of Performing Arts(CCPA), Roosevelt University. A Bachelor of Arts (BA) CUM LAUDE in Classical Composition (2018) from Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre(EAMT), Tallinn.

Born in Philadelphia, Julian began violin and piano studies at the age of 5, later taking on clarinet, trumpet, and percussion during middle and high school years after migrating to South Korea in 2007. Around age 15 was when he took composition studies seriously, also having strong interests in score reading and orchestral conducting. After graduating from Gyeonggi Arts High School (2015) as composition major, he took part in the “Curtis Summerfest” as composition major taking masterclasses with David Ludwig and Shinuh Lee. Having studied under Tõnu Kõrvits and Helena Tulve at EAMT, Julian has greatly polished his skills as a skilful orchestrator and gained much delicacy when handling compositions. After studying under Frederick Gifford and Kyong Mee Choi at CCPA for the first year, Covid times has pushed him to finally serve at the Republic of Korea Air Force Band as composer, having been awarded the “Certification of Appreciation” by the United States Air Force. Returning back to CCPA to complete his Master’s has allowed him to study under David Clay Mettens and Matt Mason. He has attended various masterclasses during studies in Estonia, Korea, and the US with Aleksander Kościów, Piotr Borkowski, Spencer Topel, Rezo Kiknadze, Selga Mence, and Daron Hagen. Julian was awarded multiple Academic Scholarships by EAMT, the 1st prize commission from the “New Composer Competition” by the OR Art Ensemble Korea, the winner of the “CCPA String Chamber Music & Composition Collaboration Competition” by CCPA. Julian currently resides in South Korea as a freelance musician, holding titles as ‘Composer in Residence’ for both “Ikaros Ensemble” in Chicago, “Doodlian Percussion Ensemble” in Korea and many more to come. Occasionally, Julian performs as guest timpanist and percussionist for various minor orchestras around South Korea. He is also one of the main musicians associated with Made In Musicb(madeinmusic.co.kr) under copyright agreement with the Korea Music Copyright Association (KOMCA).