Praised by The Washington Post for his "warmth, energy, and exuberance," violinist NICOLAS KENDALL has been awarded the 2005 Musical Fund Society Career Grant. His 2005-2006 concert schedule includes performances of the Sibelius Concerto at the Breckenridge Festival and the JCC of Greater Washington, Massenet's Meditation from Thaïs and Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Vallejo (CA) Symphony Orchestra, and the Schoenfield Concerto at the National Gallery of Art. He also appears at the Moab Music Festival and gives recitals and educational residencies at Western Michigan University and the University of Wisconsin.

Mr. Kendall made his New York concerto debut at Alice Tully Hall with the Westchester Philharmonic in May 2004 performing YCA composer Kenji Bunch's Fantasy. At the age of fifteen, he made his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra as a result of winning their young artists competition. The following year, he won the young artists competition to perform with the Saint Louis Symphony. He has appeared as soloist with the San Diego, Anchorage, Flagstaff, Wichita, San Juan (CO), Haddonfield (NJ), and Mansfield (OH) Symphonies, the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra.

An active chamber musician, Mr. Kendall is a member of the Dryden String Quartet. He has participated in the Isaac Stern Chamber Music Seminar at Carnegie Hall, the Marlboro Music Festival, the Astral Trio, the Los Angeles Chamber Music Festival, and performed with late pianist Ruth Laredo in her concert series in Naples, FL. He has given recitals and educational residencies throughout the U.S.

Mr. Kendall is a founding member of the string trio "Time for Three," which expands musical boundaries, playing in an eclectic style informed by Appalachian folk music, Hungarian and Spanish gypsy music, jazz, country-western, and classical music. He also performs with the innovative conductorless orchestra ECCO.

As First Prize winner of the 2002 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Mr. Kendall was also awarded the Fergus Orchestra Soloist Prize, the Pennsylvania Concerts Prize with the Janet Weis Award, the Rhoda Walker Teagle Prize, and the Bärenreiter Prize for Violin. He currently holds YCA's John French Violin Chair.

Mr. Kendall is also on the roster of Astral Artistic Services in Philadelphia, which presented his Philadelphia recital debut. He is the recipient of a fellowship from the Independence Foundation and a grant in support of his musical career from the Presser Foundation. He studied with Victor Danchenko at The Curtis Institute of Music.

Following a long tradition set by his grandfather, John Kendall, the first string teacher to pioneer the Suzuki method in America, Mr. Kendall is an enthusiastic teacher who often performs in schools, incorporating his love of varying musical genres in his popular workshops.