Biography

Born in 2002, Nikolai Song began his musical journey at the age of five in Singapore. At thirteen, he was admitted to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, becoming one of its youngest students, where he studied with Philippe Bernold and Florence Souchard-Delépine. He earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees there, while furthering his artistic development at the Internationale Musikakademie Liechtenstein. In 2025, he completed his Soloist diploma at the Haute École de Musique de Genève in the class of Jacques Zoon.

Since his early years in Paris, Nikolai has gained international recognition for his artistry, including receiving the ICMA Discovery Award. He has appeared as a soloist with the Basque National Orchestra, the Barcelona Baroque Orchestra at the Festival Pablo Casals, the Odense Symphony Orchestra at the Carl Nielsen International Competition, the Orchestre National de Cannes with the Quintette Pentagone, and the Ensemble Esperanza.

A passionate orchestral musician, Nikolai serves as Principal Flute of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, appointed by Music Director Manfred Honeck at the age of 22. His orchestral career took off in Switzerland at eighteen with his appointment as Assistant Principal Flute of the Sinfonieorchester Basel, followed by a position as Acting Principal Flute of the Berner Symphonieorchester. He is also a member of the Verbier Festival Orchestra.

Nikolai frequently performs as guest principal with leading European ensembles, including the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, Zürcher Kammerorchester, and Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gianandrea Noseda, Paavo Järvi, Klaus Mäkelä, Barbara Hannigan, Theodor Currentzis, and Daniel Harding, among others.

An avid chamber musician, Nikolai co-founded the wind quintet Quintette Pentagone in 2020 and earned a Bachelor’s degree in chamber music at the Paris Conservatory under Michel Moragues. He has performed at major festivals including Les Folles Journées de Nantes, the Fontainebleau Schools of Music & Fine Arts, Lyon Printemps Musical, Les Journées Ravel, and Festival Jeunes Talents.

Alongside his modern flute activities, Nikolai is deeply engaged in historical performance practice. After beginning as a self-taught player of historical flutes, he pursued formal studies in Jan De Winne’s class at the Paris Conservatory. He has performed with Les Ombres at the Festival d’Ambronay and with Concerto Soave at the Royal Chapel of Versailles. His master’s research thesis explores the development of the flute’s organology and repertoire at the Paris Conservatory from La Symphonie fantastique to the Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (1830–1894).

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