Nicholas Tavani
Lauded by the Washington Post for his “brilliant musicianship,” violinist Nicholas Tavani debuted in Washington, D.C.’s Gaston Hall at the age of eight. Since then, he has performed extensively in the United States and around the world, including at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Constitution Hall, Strathmore Hall, the State Department, and the National Gallery of Art; given concerts in London, Germany, Italy, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Denver, Austin, and Albuquerque; and toured Bolivia, Peru, Austria, and Hungary. Performances with orchestra include the Aspen Festival Orchestra, Prince William Symphony, Little River Symphony, Masterworks Festival Orchestra, CIM Chamber Orchestra, and many others.

A winner of the 2009 Coleman International Chamber Music Competition, Nicholas is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival, Encore School for Strings, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, and the MasterWorks Festival. With the Aeolus Quartet, he toured the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Wisconsin as well as presenting the world premieres of Alexandra Bryant's string quartet "Of This Earth" and Evan Premo's chamber opera "Diaries of Adam and Eve," scored for string quartet and two voices. In addition, he recently performed the world premiere of Alexandra Bryant's violin concerto "Such a Child" with the CIM Chamber Orchestra in Cleveland. He is also laureate of several other major competitions, including the Kingsville International Competition for Strings and the Postacchini International Violin Competition.

At present, Nicholas serves as first violinist of the Aeolus Quartet at the University of Texas-Austin's Butler School of music, where they are the Graduate Quartet in Residence. The program involves extensive teaching and performing responsibilities, educational outreach to the Austin community, and intensive study with the Miró Quartet. An alumnus of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Nicholas studied violin with William Preucil and chamber music with Peter Salaff and the Cavani Quartet.