NIKOLAI NESTEROV, PIANO

Born into a family of musicians, Russian-Canadian pianist Nikolai Nesterov is in the 3rd year of his Bachelor of Music degree in performance at the University of Calgary, studying with Dr. Jani Parsons. An alumnus of the Academy of Music for the Gifted Youth at the Mount Royal Conservatory, Nikolai has been an annual prize and scholarship winner at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival, the Alberta Provincial Music Festival as well as the Canadian Music Competition since 2012. For the 2020-21 season, he was also selected as one of four young musicians to be a part of the Young Artist Development Program of Calgary’s Pro Music Society.

Most recently, Nikolai has appeared at the ProArts Society and the Stingray Classical Live at the King Eddy concert series in Calgary, along with his parents, pianist Dmitry Nesterov and violinist Olga Kotova. He was also a three-time runner-up at the Calgary Concerto Competition between 2016 and 2020. He also holds a Grade 10 piano diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music.

Nikolai has also performed and participated at summer masterclasses at Alberta PianoFest and the Comox Summer Youth Music Camp in B.C. There he in had the privilege of working with many renowned musicians including Jason Cutmore, Frederic Chiu, Jarome Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens, and Steven Lubin.

Nikolai actively teaches piano and music theory, as well as regularly volunteers by performing for seniors at various Calgary and area senior homes. Besides music, Nikolai enjoys computer science and programming, as well as outdoor activities such as basketball, swimming, skiing, hiking, and camping.