Nicholas Cords

Guest Musician

Violist Nicholas Cords is deeply committed to the advocacy of music from a broad historic and geographical spectrum. This past season, he gave his New York City recital debut at Bargemusic, including works by Joachim, Takemitsu and Ligeti. Other recent solo appearances include St. Petersburg’s famed White Nights Festival, and the Vail International Dance Festival, where he participated in a revival of a rare Balanchine choreography (with the great Brazilian ballerina Carla Körbes) to Stravinsky's Élegie for solo viola. His widely praised solo recording, Recursions, features solo works that range from Biber to Irish traditional to his own compositions for multi-track viola. Mr. Cords is a founding member of Brooklyn Rider; a intrepid string quartet that the LA Times referred to as "one of the wonders of contemporary music." The group has collaborated with artists ranging from banjo phenomenon Béla Fleck to soprano Dawn Upshaw, commissioned and premiered dozens of works, and their seven studio albums have received praise from virtually every corner of the music industry. Mr. Cords is also an original member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble and serves as the organizations programming chair. Mr. Cords appears on all five of the ensemble’s albums; Silk Road Journeys, Beyond the Horizon, New Impossibilities, Off the Map, A Playlist Without Borders as well as a live concert DVD; Live from Tanglewood. As a concerto soloist, he gave the New York premiere of John Harbison's Viola Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra, and has also appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, and the Minnesota Orchestra. A committed teacher, Mr. Cords is Viola Artist-in-Residence at Stony Brook University.