Biography

Born in 2002 of Korean-Russian origins, Nikolai started music at 5 years of age in Singapore, before entering the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris at the age of just 13, as one of the youngest students, in the class of Philippe Bernold & Florence Delepine Souchard. To continue his development, he attended the Internationale Musik Akademie in Liechtenstein and has had masterclasses with Patrick Gallois, Stéphane Rety, Julien Beaudiment, Stephanie Winker, & Marc Hantai. He is currently pursuing a Soloist Master's diploma at the Haute École de Musique de Genève in the class of Jacques Zoon.

Since his entry to the Conservatoire de Paris, Nikolai has earned acclaim for his artistry, including being honoured with the prestigious ICMA Discovery Award (International Classical Music Awards). He has appeared as a soloist with l’Orchestre National de Cannes, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Baroque Orchestra at the Festival Pablo Casals, and with the Euskadi Orchestra.

Passionate about orchestral playing, at age 18, he was appointed as temporary Associate Principal flute at the Sinfonieorchester Basel, where he worked during the 22/23 season.

He has been invited to perform with l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Beethoven Philharmonie of Vienna, and as guest principal flute with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Orchestre des Pays de Savoie, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, and Zürcher Kammerorchester.

Nikolai is also an avid chamber musician, he co-founded the Quintette Pentagone in 2020, and has performed in numerous Festivals such as les Folles Journées de Nantes, Festival des Écoles d’Art Américaines à Fontainbleau, Lyon Printemps Musicals, les Journées Ravel, Festival Jeunes Talents…

In addition to his activities as a modern flutist, ever since discovering early music as a young teenager, Nikolai is an autodidact of historical flutes, ranging from baroque to romantic instruments, and has afterward pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Jan de Winne’s class at the National Conservatory of Paris. He has performed with different ensembles in various festivals: with les Ombres at Festival d’Ambronay, and the Concerto Soave at the Royal Chapel of Versailles. Enjoying equally very much researching these topics, he wrote his master’s thesis on the development of the flute’s organology and repertory at the Paris Conservatory from Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique to Debussy’s Prélude de l’Après-midi d’un Faune (1830-1894).

Outside of music, Nikolai is an enthusiastic sportsman both on and off the field. He is a medalist in national junior fencing championships (épée) and a passionate football fan, spending much of his free time following and studying the sport.