Nathan Cole is a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's first violin section. He enjoys performing for the great audiences at Symphony Center as well as those around the world. He appeared recently as guest concertmaster with the symphonies of Oregon and Seattle, and as soloist with the Lexington Philharmonic, the symphonies of Bremerton and Haddonfield, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In the summer of 2004, Nathan won second prize at the International Violin Competition of Sion-Valais, and in addition captured the special prize for best performance of the commissioned work by Ludovic Thirvaudey. As a result, he appeared in Sion and Geneva with the Prague Philharmonia and Maestro Shlomo Mintz. In recent seasons Nathan performed recitals in Lexington (KY), Naples (FL), Saint Paul and Philadelphia. In Chicago he appeared through Ars Viva, Classical Performers, Dame Myra Hess, Music@399, and on WFMT’s “Live from Studio One”.

Prior to his CSO appointment in 2002, he served for two seasons as principal second violin of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. A native of Lexington, Kentucky, his solo debut came at the age of ten with the Louisville Orchestra. He received a Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Pamela Frank, Felix Galimir, Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo. Nathan’s love for chamber music flourished at Curtis, and in 1998 he became the founding first violinist of the Grancino String Quartet, which won the 2000 Barnett Competition in Chicago and participated in the 2000 Isaac Stern Chamber Music Encounters in Jerusalem. The Quartet made its New York debut in Carnegie's Weill Hall in 2002. Nathan’s chamber music activities also include three summers at the Marlboro Music Festival, along with national tours as part of Music From Marlboro. The last two summers have seen Nathan teach and perform at the Colorado College Summer Music Institute and at the Mimir Festival in Fort Worth, TX.

Nathan enjoys teaching and web design; his site contains stories and pictures from his life in music, as well as articles on violin study. Visit him at www.natesviolin.com.


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