Zeitgeist is pleased to introduce the newest member of the ensemble, pianist Nicola Melville! Zeitgeist is delighted to welcome Nicola into the ensemble as they look ahead to a season of new music and new collaborations. Stay tuned for details about Zeitgeist’s 2014-2015 season to find out when you can meet Nicola and hear her perform!
US-based New Zealand pianist Nicola Melville has been described as “having an original and intelligent musical mind” (Waikato Times), “a marvelous pianist who plays with splashy color but also exquisite tone and nuance” (American Record Guide), and “the sort of advocate any composer would love” (Dominion Post). Her live performances and recordings have been broadcast on Canadian, U.S., New Zealand, South African and Chinese radio, and she has been involved in numerous interdisciplinary projects with dancers, filmmakers and visual artists, including performances at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Recent performances include solo appearances and residencies in Chile, New Zealand, Ohio, Florida, Chicago, Vermont and New York City, and several collaborations with cellist Jeff Zeigler (formerly of the Kronos Quartet), violinist Chris Otto of the JACK quartet, and various members of the Minnesota, Detroit, Boston, and Saint Paul Chamber orchestras. Upcoming engagements will feature performances in Birka, Sweden, Helsinki, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, New York and a tour of New Zealand. She is also working on a multi-phased recording project with the prolific New Zealand/UK composer, Christopher Norton, and will be creating new works with Berlin-based media artist, Mark Coniglio.
Nicola attended Victoria University School of Music, Wellington, where she studied with Judith Clark, and then earned Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Rebecca Penneys. Nicola won both the National Concerto Competition and the Auckland Star Concerto Competition while in New Zealand, and has been a prizewinner in several competitions in the U.S., including being the winner of the SAI Concerto Competition at the Chautauqua Music Festival. While at Eastman, Nicola was awarded the Lizzie T. Mason prize for Outstanding Graduate Pianist, and the Performer’s Certificate. She has won grants from such organizations as Meet the Composer, Creative New Zealand, the Argosy Fund for Contemporary Music, and the Jerome Composers Commissioning Program for the commissioning and performance of new music. Nicola has recorded for the Innova and Equilibrium labels, including a CD of thirteen new solo pieces dedicated to her, entitled “Melville’s Dozen.” Nicola is Associate Professor at Carleton College, Minnesota, where she heads the piano and chamber music programs, and is Artistic Co-Director of the Chautauqua Music Festival Piano Program in New York.
Nicola attended Victoria University School of Music, Wellington, where she studied with Judith Clark, and then earned Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Rebecca Penneys. Nicola won both the National Concerto Competition and the Auckland Star Concerto Competition while in New Zealand, and has been a prizewinner in several competitions in the U.S., including being the winner of the SAI Concerto Competition at the Chautauqua Music Festival. While at Eastman, Nicola was awarded the Lizzie T. Mason prize for Outstanding Graduate Pianist, and the Performer’s Certificate. She has won grants from such organizations as Meet the Composer, Creative New Zealand, the Argosy Fund for Contemporary Music, and the Jerome Composers Commissioning Program for the commissioning and performance of new music. Nicola has recorded for the Innova and Equilibrium labels, including a CD of thirteen new solo pieces dedicated to her, entitled “Melville’s Dozen.” Nicola is Associate Professor at Carleton College, Minnesota, where she heads the piano and chamber music programs, and is Artistic Co-Director of the Chautauqua Music Festival Piano Program in New York.
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