For more than two decades, violist Nicholas Cords has built a multifaceted career as performer, educator, and cultural advocate. A founding member of Brooklyn Rider and longtime member of the Silkroad Ensemble, he is deeply committed to music that bridges traditions and time periods.

As violist of Silkroad, a collective founded by Yo-Yo Ma, Nicholas has performed worldwide, contributed to over one hundred commissions, and appeared on all of the group’s albums, including Sing Me Home (Grammy Award, 2017). He also played a leadership role as Co-Artistic Director from 2017–2020, curating projects at major concert halls, museums, and universities. His work with Silkroad is featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary The Music of Strangers.

Equally impactful is Nicholas’s work with Brooklyn Rider, hailed by NPR for “recreating the 300-year-old form of the string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble.” The group’s adventurous spirit has led to collaborations with artists ranging from Béla Fleck and Joshua Redman to Anne Sofie von Otter and Magos Herrera, along with a prolific commissioning record. Their recordings—spanning Philip Glass to cross-genre projects like Dreamers and Healing Modes—have earned critical acclaim worldwide.

As a soloist, Nicholas has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra, among others. Festival appearances include the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg and the Vail International Dance Festival. His solo albums Recursions (2013) and Touch Harmonious (2020) reflect his commitment to repertoire from Baroque to contemporary.

A graduate of Juilliard and the Curtis Institute, Nicholas studied with Karen Tuttle and Harvey Shapiro. He now serves on the viola and chamber music faculty at New England Conservatory. He performs on a 2019 viola by French luthier Patrick Robin.