Nicola

Tait Baxter
Cello
  • Nicola’s lightness of touch and powerful, sonorous tones, were breath-taking.
    Elgar Concerto – The Chorleywood Orchestra
  • It is a rare stroke of luck when a world-class performer interprets these pieces; her haunting performances led the listeners into the late baroque soundscapes of JS Bach. Her lively interpretations were performed in an intoxicating and beautiful way.
    The Bremervorde Regional Art and Music Festival, Lower Saxony, Germany
  • (Shostakovich’s first) concerto has both beauty and drama, particularly when performed by an artist of Nicola’s stature… Nicola’s playing, with its alternation of vigorous and tender exposition, thrilled the whole hall….What a performance we heard, Nicola took charge of the work and swept away its technical difficulties.
    The Bucks Advertiser & Bucks Free Press

Nicola Tait Baxter studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Lionel Handy, winning prizes for both solo and chamber music and graduating with a first-class honours degree. Further scholarships took her to Germany and London, studying with cellists Johannes Goritzki and William Pleeth. At the age of 24 she gave her first solo broadcast for Radio 3 and she joined the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields chamber orchestra and performed regularly with the Philharmonia, City of London Sinfonia and the LSO. For 5 years she was cellist in the renowned Fitzwilliam String Quartet, performing and giving masterclasses throughout Europe, Russia, North America and South Africa.

Very much in demand as a soloists and chamber musician, her repertoire includes most of the major ‘cello concertos and she has performed the 6 solo suites by Bach in festivals in Scotland, England and Germany and has appeared as soloist in Switzerland and the USA. Nicola is also a rather active chamber music player, as well as being a founder member of AMABILE, she performs regularly with her duo partner, pianist Mina Miletic, known for their imaginative programming and dynamic interpretations. She is also a member of the Kucharsky String Quartet and the Bochmann String Trio. Upcoming performances can be found on her website.

Passionate about teaching, Nicola co-runs Leading Notes Chamber Music courses and holds teaching posts at Harrow School & Merchant Taylors'. She has also recently published some of her own compositions “5 Fantasy Pieces” for unaccompanied cello which are available to buy on her website.

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