Dr. Nina Kiken

Nina Kiken is a D.C. based violist committed to helping students cultivate personal musical expression through rigorous technical study and artistic exploration. Nina is currently viola faculty at Towson University. She previously served as the teaching assistant to Jeffrey Irvine and Lynne Ramsey at the Cleveland Institute of Music and was Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola at SUNY New Paltz. Her research interests include the history of American string pedagogy, interdisciplinary perspectives on performance and development of proprioceptive skills in string-playing.

Locally, Nina has performed at the Kennedy Center, Anthem, DAR Constitution Hall, Music Center at Strathmore, Schlesinger Concert Hall, Creative Alliance, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Miracle Theater. Recent festival appearances include SummerTrios, the Hamptons Festival of Music, Spoleto Festival USA, Lake George Music Festival and St. Barts Music Festival.

As an orchestral musician, Nina regularly performs with symphonies in the area including the Baltimore Symphony, the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, and the Richmond Symphony. In Cleveland, Nina was an artist-in-residence at Judson Manor, a senior living community, and served as the president of the Ohio Viola Society. Nina earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She completed her undergraduate degree at Northwestern University with Roland Vamos while playing in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.