Nicki Payne, Violin and Viola

Nicki (Nicola) Payne grew up in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and began playing violin at age four. She earned a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master of Music at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University. She has extensive experience performing throughout the United States and Spain, and has toured to Brazil, Argentina, Monaco, Germany, and Israel. She has performed in venues that include Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Kennedy Center, Symphony Hall, and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Nicki served as Principal Second of the Louisiana Philharmonic, and has been Principal Second of the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, OR since 2003. She was a member of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, Spain, for seven years. Nicki currently maintains an active freelancing schedule in the Boston area, performing with the Orchestra of Indian Hill, the Lexington Symphony, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic.
Nicki began her orchestral career as a fellow of the New World Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, where she served as Principal Second and Assistant Concertmaster. She has also performed with the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony (Principal Second, Concertmaster), Evansville Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de La Coruña, the Camarata de Tenerife, the La Laguna Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta d’Amici (Concertmaster), Spoleto Music Festival, and the Solti Orchestral Project at Carnegie Hall. She has worked with world-class conductors including Sir Georg Solti, James DePreist, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Christoff Eschenbach, and Larry Rachleff. She has performed with renowned soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Augustin Hadelich, Anton Nel, Andre Watts, Sarah Chang, and Mischa Maisky.
Nicki has over 20 years of teaching experience. In Tenerife, Spain, she was a professor of the Academia de la Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife. Prior to this she was an Assistant Instructor of Violin at Indiana University, She helped successfully launch a string program at T.H. Harris Middle School in Metairie, LA, teaching violin and viola to beginners, and directing the school's very first string orchestra in concert, broadcast on live local television.
Nicki's teachers include Marylou Speaker Churchill, Daniel Stepner, Lynn Blakeslee, and Mauricio Fuks. These teachers all instilled in her the responsibility of passing on their knowledge, expertise, and love of music to future generations.
Nicki enjoys running, skiing, gardening, traveling and hanging out with Robb and her triplet sons, Halden, Ian, and Nathaniel, who are all becoming accomplished musicians themselves!
Nicki served as Principal Second of the Louisiana Philharmonic, and has been Principal Second of the Britt Festival Orchestra in Jacksonville, OR since 2003. She was a member of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife, Spain, for seven years. Nicki currently maintains an active freelancing schedule in the Boston area, performing with the Orchestra of Indian Hill, the Lexington Symphony, and the Rhode Island Philharmonic.
Nicki began her orchestral career as a fellow of the New World Symphony under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas, where she served as Principal Second and Assistant Concertmaster. She has also performed with the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Owensboro Symphony (Principal Second, Concertmaster), Evansville Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de La Coruña, the Camarata de Tenerife, the La Laguna Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta d’Amici (Concertmaster), Spoleto Music Festival, and the Solti Orchestral Project at Carnegie Hall. She has worked with world-class conductors including Sir Georg Solti, James DePreist, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Christoff Eschenbach, and Larry Rachleff. She has performed with renowned soloists including Yo-Yo Ma, Joshua Bell, Augustin Hadelich, Anton Nel, Andre Watts, Sarah Chang, and Mischa Maisky.
Nicki has over 20 years of teaching experience. In Tenerife, Spain, she was a professor of the Academia de la Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife. Prior to this she was an Assistant Instructor of Violin at Indiana University, She helped successfully launch a string program at T.H. Harris Middle School in Metairie, LA, teaching violin and viola to beginners, and directing the school's very first string orchestra in concert, broadcast on live local television.
Nicki's teachers include Marylou Speaker Churchill, Daniel Stepner, Lynn Blakeslee, and Mauricio Fuks. These teachers all instilled in her the responsibility of passing on their knowledge, expertise, and love of music to future generations.
Nicki enjoys running, skiing, gardening, traveling and hanging out with Robb and her triplet sons, Halden, Ian, and Nathaniel, who are all becoming accomplished musicians themselves!