Nicole
Classical musician and artist
Nicole Stefani is a young violist who is passionate about the arts and the positive impact they have on peoples’ lives. Having recently completed the LRAM alongside her studies at the Royal Academy of Music, Nicole is now particularly interested in mentoring and inspiring the next generation of young musicians through creating an encouraging and safe learning environment for them. She believes that music has the power to enhance the lives of young people, whether they go on to pursue it professionally or not.Nicole was also fortunate enough to discover a passion for outreach work when she was selected to be Scottish Ensemble’s Young Artist in 2018, where she joined them for their September and December tours around Scotland. After witnessing the joy and relief classical music brought to the lives of hospital and cancer patients on these tours, she knew outreach work was something she was determined to integrate into her career.Nicole also joined Scottish Ensemble in 2016 for their December Tour in collaboration with players from the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. 2016 was a pivotal year for Nicole in discovering her love for Chamber Music. In July of that year, she was selected to participate in the Mendelssohn on Mull Music Festival, where she received tuition from and performed alongside members of the Chilingirian String Quartet. In addition, she was invited to participate in the Musique a Flaine International Summer School, where she received tuition from the Ysaye Quartet and solo lessons from Rachel Roberts. Nicole particularly loves the sense of teamwork and unity that comes from Chamber Music, and this was further re-enforced for her when she performed Shostakovich’s 14th String Quartet alongside Jaqueline Thomas of the Brodsky String Quartet in a side-by side project in March 2018.Thanks to Nicole’s love of teamwork, she has a wealth of orchestral experience under her belt. She was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland from 2014-2016, and with them she was able to perform in their 2015 China Tour, as well as in the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2016 BBC Proms. These are experiences she will never forget. With NYOS Camerata, she was able to perform twice in the Cumnock Tryst Music Festival under the Baton of James MacMillan and once in the 2017 Edinburgh international Festival. At the Academy, Nicole has taken part in various Symphony Orchestra projects and has had the honour of performing under the batons of world renowned conductors such as Sir Mark Elder and Ludovic Morlot. In June of this year, she will perform Mahler’s 3rd Symphony with the Academy Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall as part of the Academy’s Bicentenary celebrations.Nicole loves contemporary music and was thrilled when she was asked to freelance with the Scottish Ballet Orchestra as part of their 2019 World Premiere of The Crucible. With Scottish Ballet, she also had the pleasure of performing with them in their runs of Dextera and Cinderella.After sustaining a performance related injury, Nicole is a passionate advocate of the importance of Musicians’ Health and Wellness. She believes in spreading awareness of and opening up the conversation about this incredibly important topic. She has recently registered to complete a certification entitled “The Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine” in association with the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) and is looking at pursuing a similar qualification at UCL. She believes enhancing her knowledge on the subject will help her nurture healthy musicians of the future.
Handel: Messiah, Part 1
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