Biography
Mexican-American violist Nicolas Perkins is an emerging violist and chamber musician performer currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music under the tutelage of Ettore Causa. He received his Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Hsin-Yun Huang.
In the summer of 2026, Nicolas will join the prestigious Verbier Festival Academy Soloists Program, an intensive program for outstanding young soloists at the internationally renowned Verbier Festival in Switzerland. He has also participated in numerous distinguished festivals and programs including the Kronberg Academy Masterclasses, IMS Prussia Cove, the Gstaad Menuhin String Academy, Four Seasons Chamber Music Workshop, Perlman Music Program Chamber Music Workshop, Taos School of Music, and the Kneisel Hall Young Artists Program.
At the Aspen Music Festival, Nicolas has performed alongside distinguished artists including Jory Vinikour, Matthew Lipman, Timothy Ridout, Paul Huang, and Elaine Douvas in multiple concert cycles of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerti. He has also collaborated with members of the Juilliard, Brentano, Borromeo, Cavani, Cooperstown, Shanghai, and Hagen String Quartets. His playing has been shaped by masterclasses with leading violists such as Tabea Zimmermann, Nobuko Imai, Antoine Tamestit, Kim Kashkashian, Paul Coletti, and Donald Weilerstein.
Recent performances include appearances in the Juilliard “Now” concert series at Lincoln Center and Chelsea Factory, as well as a performance with the Cassatt Quartet at Bargemusic premiering Allen Shawn’s Piano Quintet. As a participant in Taos School of Music, Nicolas also performed in the “Taos on Tour” outreach initiative, bringing chamber music to communities throughout the region.
Nicolas is honored to be a Virtu Foundation Scholar and currently performs on a viola by Joseph Grubaugh and Sigrun Seifert generously loaned through the foundation, as well as a bow provided by the Maestro Foundation. He previously studied with Mai Motobuchi at the New England Conservatory and Gina Coletti at the Colburn School of Performing Arts.
Outside of music, Nicolas enjoys cooking, exploring new coffee shops, watching video essays, and spending time walking in nature.
Artist Statement
As a part of my personhood, I am deeply fond of and curious about the medium of classical music as a vehicle for addressing our own somatic feelings and the importance of storytelling. Music has always been a place of reflection for me, whether that be looking inward at my own feelings or serving as a witness to the current state of the world. I feel fortunate to be in an artistic profession that values the importance of process and human expression.
My duty as an artist is a balancing act of embracing the music’s innate stylistic sensibilities, yet having my own unique understanding of the text at hand. Music is an all-encompassing tool people need in their lives to look inward and to reflect on the more buried existential thoughts in our cluttered minds. Chamber music is a space that has allowed me to explore a much more creative side of my brain—a place where human connection and musical process go hand in hand in creating something meaningful. Finding common ground with colleagues and expressing a message of something larger than life is essential to my artistry. I firmly believe my approach to music is less about technicality and more about this idea of “mind over matter.”
This process of exploring a score with other musicians offers an interesting case study for myself and everyone involved. I enjoy working on scores brimming with idiomatic sonic details that bring a world into focus. I love the poetic nature of music. Its unique prose is an invitation to the audience to be immersed in a world that is not our current reality. The act of collaborating is deeply important for my artistic process. It trains our flexibility not only in our listening but in our ability to connect and communicate with other humans.
I hope to push the boundaries of classical music performance practice, evaluating tradition more as an option presented rather than a dogmatic principle. I hope to create inspiring, immersive performances that are innately human and elicit a dialogue between myself and the audience.
