Biography
Seventeen-year-old Nigel Armstrong, from Sonoma, California, is a student of violin at the The Colburn School in Los Angeles, where he studies with Robert Lipsett, Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair, in the Conservatory of Music. He was a student at the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Donald Weilerstein, and at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where he graduated in June, 2007. Nigel began his violin studies at age five, and went on to study extensively with Zaven Melikian, former professor of violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and former Concertmaster of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Enjoying solo, chamber, and orchestral playing, as well as improvisation in various jazz and fiddle styles, Nigel’s musical experiences have been varied.
Nigel was the Associate Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra during the 2003/2004 season. He was also their featured soloist, performing Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5, in May, 2004, as winner of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra’s 2003 Concerto Competition. He took first place in the SF Bay Area American Society of String Teachers (ASTA) 2004 competition, and went on to win the California state ASTA competition. Nigel is the recipient of the first annual Young Artist Award from the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, Nigel was awarded second place in the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition for Massachusetts high school instrumentalists, followed by first place in early 2007. Nigel was a featured soloist with the Boston Pops in July, 2007.
As winner of the first American Philharmonic Young Artist Award, Nigel performed Saint-Saëns' Havanaise and Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso as featured soloist with American Philharmonic - Sonoma County, conducted by Gabriel Sakakeeny, October 21-22, 2006 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park, California.
Nigel performed the complete Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor as the featured soloist with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra as part of the regular season in January, 2005. In March, 2004, he soloed for the combined San Francisco Symphony and Youth Orchestra benefactor’s concert at Davies Symphony Hall.
Other performances of note include Nigel’s performance with the Reno Philharmonic of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, 1st movement, in the final concert of the Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival in August of 2003, and his soloing with the Baroque Sinfonia performing Mozart's Third Violin Concerto, for which Nigel composed two cadenzas. In the summer of 2002, he won the summer Bach Violin Concerto Competition and was soloist for the final concert of the Indiana University String Academy Summer Music Program.
Nigel was selected as one of fifteen young artists to perform at the second biennial Starling-DeLay Symposium on Violin Studies at the Juilliard School. Under the auspices of the San Francisco Symphony, Nigel has performed in a master class given by SFS Concertmaster Alexander Barantschik. He has participated in the Music@Menlo chamber music program, the Encore Summer Music Program in Hudson, Ohio; the Indiana University String Academy Summer Music Program in Bloomington, Indiana; the California Summer Music program in Pebble Beach; and the Walden School composition and improvisation summer program in Walden, New Hampshire.
While classical music is his major passion, Nigel also enjoys playing and composing jazz and fiddle tunes for violin and piano. He has participated in the Mark O'Connor fiddle camp in Nashville and competed in various fiddle contests. His music composition studies have inspired such pieces as "Song of the Zoonks," awarded Honorable Mention by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) in the 2002 Young Composers Morton Gould Awards. Nigel was featured on "From the Top," a radio program showcasing young classical musicians, in March of 2003.
Resumé
Education
Currently enrolled at The Colburn School, Conservatory of Music.
2007 Graduated from the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA.
2000, 2001, School courses taken through Educational Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY), a program of Stanford University specializing in internet based curriculum
1995-2005, Elementary, middle, and early high school studies as a mixture of
public education and home school in Sonoma, California Schools
Musical Training
Present - Robert Lipsett, Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair, in the The Colburn School, Conservatory of Music
August, 2005 to June, 2007 - teacher, Mr. Donald Weilerstein, Professor of Violin, New England Conservatory of Music
June, 2004 to August, 2005 – teacher, Mr. Li Lin, Professor of Violin, San Francisco Conservatory of Music
January, 2000 to May, 2004 – teacher, Mr. Zaven Melikian, Professor of Violin San Francisco Conservatory of Music (retired) and Concertmaster, San Francisco Opera Orchestra (retired)
Summer, 2003 – Encore Summer Music Program, Hudson, Ohio
Mr. David Cerone and Mrs. Linda Cerone, teachers
June, 2003 – Young Artist in the Starling-Delay Symposium at Juilliard, NYC
Performed in master classes for Brian Lewis, Won-Bin Yim, and Anne Akiko-Meyers
Summer, 2002 – Indiana University String Academy Summer Music Program, Bloomington, Indiana
Ms. Mimi Zweig, teacher
May 2002 – Master class with Alexander Barantchik, concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony
Summer, 2001 – California Summer Music (CSM) program, Pebble Beach, California
Mr. Zaven Melikian, Ms. Robin Sharp, Mrs. Wendy Sharp, teachers
Summer, 2000 – Walden School composition and improvisation summer program, Walden, New Hampshire
Ms. Patricia Plude, teacher
1995 – 1999 – private violin and piano lessons in Sonoma, California
Concert Experience
October 21-22, 2006, featured soloist for American Philharmonic - Sonoma County, conducted by Gabriel Sakakeeny. Performed Saint-Saëns' Havanaise and Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso
January, 2005, featured soloist for the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, conducted by George Thompson. Performed Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E major and Pablo de Sarasate’s Zapateado, the piano part arranged for orchestra by Mr. Thompson
May 16, 2004, featured soloist for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra’s final regular season performance in Davies Hall, conducted by Edwin Outwater. Performed Henri Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor
April 4, 2004, full recital, Jackson Theatre, Santa Rosa, sponsored by the Santa Rosa Concert Association
March, 2004, featured soloist for the combined San Francisco Symphony and Youth Orchestra benefactors’ performance. Performed J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4
August, 2003, featured soloist for the Reno Symphony, at the Lake Tahoe Summer Music Festival finale concert, conducted by Timm Rolek. Performed Tschaikowsky’s Violin Concerto, 1st movement, and as an encore, Recitative and Scherzo-Caprice by Fritz Kreisler
February, 2003, featured soloist for the Berkeley Symphony, conducted by George Thompson. Played Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E major, third movement
January, 2003, featured guest on the “From the Top” radio program, performed Dvorak’s Romance in f minor
October, 2002, San Francisco Conservatory recital, featuring compositions by Bach, Wieniawski, and Dont
July, 2002, featured soloist for finale concert, Indiana University String Academy Summer Music Program, Bloomington, Indiana, performed as winner of the summer Bach Violin Concerto competition
May, 2002, full recital, Sonoma, California, featuring compositions by Vitali, Brahms, Kreisler, and Wieniawski
February, 2002 – soloist for the Baroque Sinfonia, Santa Rosa, California, conducted by Eugene Shepard. Mozart’s Violin Concerto in G Major
