To a Butterfly

His inspirations span science, literature, and everyday life—from reef-saving coral research and Da Vinci’s failed flying machines to his morning coffee and favorite episodes of Star Trek. As a composer, educator, and artistic leader, Nick works from the conviction that music can spark connection and welcome people into inclusive communities.

A Rhodes Scholar, Nick has received commissions from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Tacoma, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, New College Choir, arx duo, Sandbox Percussion, PRISM Quartet, and others. His works have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra Winds, Artosphere Festival Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, and many other ensembles and artists. His forays into film music contributed to an AudioFile Earphones Award for This is Not My Hat, Scholastic’s film and audiobook adaptation of the Caldecott Medal-winning story by Jon Klassen.

Nick expands the reach of new music through imaginative, cross-disciplinary collaborations. In 2024, he joined forces with actor John de Lancie (Star Trek, Breaking Bad) for two programs exploring art and inspiration, featuring Nick’s Darmok & Jalad alongside a world premiere based on text by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. The pair will debut another project in 2026. Nick co-founded Nodality Music, a nonprofit forging direct connections between artists, audiences, and the wider world, which is currently leading a commissioning and educational initiative on music and climate justice. Nick’s children’s opera Anansi and the Great Light, produced by the Curtis Family Concert Series, pioneered a community-driven creative process highlighted by PBS WHYY. He also launched Creative Expression Through Music, a partnership between the Curtis Institute of Music and the Penn Memory Center, engaging patients and caregivers in the co-creation of new works.

As director of the Curtis New Music Ensemble, Nick champions cutting-edge contemporary classical music through the highest level of artistry. He has also served as an artistic consultant for the Tanglewood Music Center, advising on repertoire curation and creative direction for its historic Festival of Contemporary Music.

Nick previously co-founded and directed the Oxford Laptop Orchestra (OxLOrk), England’s first laptop orchestra. Powered by hemispherical speakers and custom software instruments, the ensemble brought together musicians and coders in live performance. In its inaugural year, the ensemble gave five concerts, including collaborations with the Ashmolean Museum and London’s Barbican Centre.

Nick earned degrees in composition from Princeton University (B.A., M.F.A.), the University of Oxford (M.Phil, with distinction), Yale School of Music (M.M.), and Curtis Institute of Music (Post-Baccalaureate Diploma, Community Artist Fellowship).

Nick serves as provost and dean of the conservatory at Curtis Institute of Music, where he holds the Rock Chair in Composition Studies. He is a composition faculty member and program coordinator at the Tanglewood Music Center, holding the Renee Longy Master Teacher Chair. He teaches at the highSCORE Festival and was a founding faculty member for the Emerging Composers Intensive at Hidden Valley Music Seminars.

Recognized as one of the most celebrated violinists of her generation, Elissa Lee Koljonen has thrilled audiences and critics in over one hundred cities throughout the world. Ms. Koljonen initially received international acclaim when she became the first recipient of the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Award and silver medalist of the Carl Flesch International Violin Competition. Her playing has been hailed by the Helsingin Sanomat (Helsinki) as “sparkling, sensual and personal.” Dan Tucker of the Chicago Tribune has written that “she displayed boundless technique and musicianship.”

Ms. Koljonen’s engagements have included a return to the Philadelphia Orchestra to perform the Shostakovich Violin Concerto #1, her debut in Spain with James Judd and the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, performances with José-Luis Novo and the orchestras in Annapolis and Binghamton, the Delaware Symphony, Reading Symphony, the Kimmel Center’s Summer Solstice and the Philadelphia premiere of Behzad Ranjbaran’s Violin Concerto with JoAnn Falletta. She has also made appearances with the Boston Pops, Minnesota Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic and the symphonies of Baltimore, Cincinnati, Dallas, Detroit, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Helsinki and Seoul. Ms. Koljonen has collaborated with such noted conductors as Mattias Bamert, James DePriest, Lawrence Foster, Richard Hickox, Neeme Järvi, Louis Lane, Andrew Litton, Eiji Oue and the late Bryden Thompson.

She has performed in some of the world’s most important venues, including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Barbican Centre in London, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Seoul Arts Center, the Symphony Hall in Boston, and the Academy of Music and Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. Also an avid chamber musician, Ms. Koljonen appears regularly at festivals throughout North America, Europe and Asia. She garnered critical acclaim for her debut at the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London and her appearances with the London Mozart Players and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo in a special concert celebrating the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi Dynasty.

Ms. Koljonen is a protégée of the great Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music. Incorporating his influence, she carries on the legacy and tradition of Leopold Auer and his legendary school of violin playing.