Born into a family of musicians, pianist Nikolai Nesterov is in his fourth year of a Bachelor of Music degree in performance at the University of Calgary, currently studying with Dr. Jani Parsons.An alumnus of the Academy of Music for Gifted Youth at Mount Royal Conservatory, Nikolai has been an annual prize and scholarship winner at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival; as well as the Canadian Music Competition since 2012. 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.
This summer, Nikolai had the opportunity to participate at the Gloria Artis Festival in Vienna, Austria; where he made his debut performance in the Kleiner Ehrbar Saal. During his stay there he had the chance to work with renowned professors; Lilya Zilberstein, Anna Malikova and Claudius Tanski.
Most recently, Nikolai appeared as a soloist at the ProArts Society Concert Series in March 2023. 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 ProArtsSociety Concert Series in 2019.
Between 2016 and 2020, Nikolai was a three-time runner-up at the Calgary Concerto Competition. Nikolai is also an active member of the Peaks + Prairies Ensemble, founded by his brother, Lev Nesterov. Nikolai has performed and participated at summer master classes at Alberta Piano Fest and the Comox Summer Youth Music Camp in British Columbia.
He had the privilege of working with renowned musicians including but not limited to Marilyn Engle, Rolf Bertsch, Jason Cutmore, Frederic Chiu, Jarome Lowenthal, Ursula Oppens, Orli Shaham, and Steven Lubin.
Nikolai loves teaching 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 programming, the outdoors, and nature photography.