About Nik

Nik began his musical studies at the age of nine on piano. Shortly thereafter, he took an interest in classical guitar which he studied under the tutelage of Dr. Richard Smoot. On a whim, at age 14, he decided to learn the viola, and a year later also picked up violin. He continued viola lessons with Susan Walsh throughout high school, during which time he was a member of numerous orchestras including the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Ohio All-State Orchestra. He later went on to study viola with Dr. Catharine Carroll Lees and Steve Wedell at The Ohio State University. While at OSU, Nik also took advanced courses in music theory, composition, orchestration, keyboard harmony, and theoretical mathematics.

Nik graduated summa cum laude with his Bachelor's of Music from OSU in 2014, but remained at OSU a few years after to pursue additional coursework in higher mathematics. Today, Nik maintains a private studio of piano and strings students and continues to perform in groups of all sizes on both violin and viola, including the Westerville Symphony, Lima Symphony, and a chamber group known as Quantum Entanglement. In his spare time, Nik enjoys cycling and restoring his 110 year old house in Columbus. Nik also dabbles in mechanics and loves learning how things work.