Nigel Armstrong

Nigel grew up in Sonoma, California and was appreciated as a prodigy from an early age. Nigel earned his bachelor’s degree from The Colburn School where he was a student of the famed Robert Lipsett. Nigel performed well in a series of international violin competitions during his student years and debuted with important orchestras in North and South America and Europe before earning a post graduate diploma from Curtis. comes with innate musicality; his use of color, his musical line, his flair for expression… these come from his body and blood. Unlike some great musicians who can intellectualize “musical intent” in everything they play, Nigel just does it. His playing is supremely intelligent, but he doesn’t let his intellect interfere with his playing. It comes from his body and from his cultivated instincts.
Nigel worked hard to raise his playing to the level of the international concert stage but one can tell this effort came naturally to him. His flexible athletic technique and his innate musicality means he didn’t have to fight with himself to produce his sound and his music. Nigel is a “natural,” and while Nigel plays with technical magnificence, Nigel is not a show off. He doesn’t feel nervous when approaching a threatening passage, he just plays the music and gives us a window into the composer’s soul.