New Zealand-born pianist Nicola Melville has been described as “having an original and intelligent musical mind” (Waikato Times), “a marvelous pianist who plays with splashy color but also exquisite tone and nuance” (American Record Guide), and “the sort of advocate any composer would love” (Dominion Post, NZ). She has performed and taught extensively throughout the US, Europe, South America, and New Zealand, and her live performances and recordings have been broadcast on Canadian, US, New Zealand, South African, and Chinese radio. Nicola has collaborated recently with members of the Kronos Quartet and the JACK quartet, and with members of the Detroit, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Saint Paul Chamber orchestras. Nicola has also been involved in numerous projects with dancers, filmmakers, computer scientists, and visual artists, including performances at the Kennedy Center and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Nicola attended the Victoria University School of Music, Wellington, where she studied with Judith Clark; she won the National Concerto Competition and the Auckland Star Concerto Competition while in New Zealand. She earned Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Rebecca Penneys. At Eastman, Nicola was awarded the Lizzie T. Mason prize for Outstanding Graduate Pianist, and the Performer’s Certificate. She has been a prizewinner in several competitions in the U.S., including being the winner of the SAI Concerto Competition at the Chautauqua Music Festival. She has won grants from such national organizations as Meet the Composer, the American Composer’s Forum, Creative New Zealand, the Argosy Fund for Contemporary Music, and the Jerome Composers Commissioning Program for the commissioning, performing, and recording of solo and chamber works, and is a recording artist for Concert FM in New Zealand. She performs about 30 concerts a year as pianist of the ensemble, Zeitgeist, and is a member of the cross-cultural group, Intersection. She has recorded for the innova and Equilibrium labels, and has also recorded several CDs of works of by Christopher Norton that are included in world-wide distribution by Boosey and Hawkes publishing. Nicola holds an endowed chair at Carleton College, Minnesota, where she is currently the Dye Family Professor of Music.