Nick Borghoff

Nick Borghoff is an American violist based in New York City, and has been a member of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra since 2019. Growing up in New Jersey, he was a member of the distinguished New York Youth Symphony for four years, performing regularly at Carnegie Hall and being broadcast on WQXR, New York Public Radio. He held the Natalie Pearlstein Chair, serving as assistant principal viola of the section, and was awarded a chamber orchestra fellowship where he served as principal of the viola section. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance from the University of Hartford Hartt School, where he studied viola and chamber music with Steve Larson. During his undergraduate studies, he began performing with the HSO under the musical direction of Carolyn Kuan. He has also performed with the Apex Ensemble in Montclair, New Jersey, as well as The Orchestra Now at Bard College. In 2022, he completed his Master of Music degree in Orchestral Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, studying viola with Craig Mumm, Karen Dreyfus and Shmuel Katz, and chamber music with Mark Steinberg (Brentano String Quartet) and Daniel Avshalomov (American String Quartet). During his time at the Manhattan School of Music, he performed as a soloist in the Benjamin Lees Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra with the Manhattan School of Music Symphony under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. He was also a winner of the school’s Lillian Fuchs Chamber Music Competition in 2021, performing Brahms’ String Quintet No. 2 in G Major.

In the summer of 2022, he was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, where he was coached in chamber music by members of the Juilliard and Concord string quartets. He performed in the orchestra under the batons of world renowned conductors and composers such as John Williams, Andris Nelsons, JoAnn Faletta, and Thomas Ade?s. Some additional highlights include working with the inspiring Gabriela Lena Frank on her string sextet “Hypnagogia,” as well as performing in the U.S. premier of George Benjamin’s opera, Lessons in Love and Violence, conducted by Sir George Benjamin himself.

His musical accomplishments have also enabled him to perform with other celebrated conductors including Leon Botstein, Stefan Asbury, Joshua David Gersen, and Ryan McAdams. He has performed in solo masterclasses for Cong Wu (New York Philharmonic), Milan Milisavljevic? (Metropolitan Opera), Cathy Basrak (Boston Symphony Orchestra) and Sarah Freiberg (Handel&Haydn Society). He has also performed in chamber music masterclasses for renowned musicians such as Shmuel Ashkenasi, Peter Serkin, Cuarteto Latinamericano, the Juilliard String Quartet, the Shanghai String Quartet and the Lions Gate Trio.

A passionate and dedicated performer of symphonic music, he also enjoys performing music for the stage, including ballet, opera and musical theater. He has spent several seasons playing in pits for regional theater productions around Connecticut, and is currently a viola/violin sub for The Lion King on Broadway.