Violinist Nicole Oswald is a distinguished performer, dedicated educator, and community-driven arts leader. Most recently serving as the Acting Concertmaster of the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra (2024- summer 2026), her career spans performance and deeply rooted local engagement. Nicole is a former Artist in Residence at the College of Idaho and a former member of the Langroise Trio. Driven by a passion for up-close classical chamber music experiences, she co-founded the Thirdspace Quartet—presenting over 24 events in the Treasure Valley during its inaugural season. Today, she continues to shape the region's cultural landscape as a co-founder of Chamber Music Boise, an initiative that brings world-class guest artists to Idaho while cultivating the next generation of talent through its youth chamber music division.

Ms. Oswald’s orchestral career includes a core position with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, a previous role as concertmaster of The Orchestra Now and collaborations with world-renowned artists such as Gil Shaham. She was recently featured as concertmaster with the Opera Idaho Orchestra performing the famous Meditation from Massenet’s Thais. She has performed across the United States and abroad since her debut near her hometown of Boise, Idaho, at the age of 10. Her competitive success includes awards from the MTNA National Soloist Competition, the Stradivarius International Violin Competition and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Strings Competition.

As an educator, Nicole maintains a large private studio and has been invited to teach and perform at various institutions, including the Castleman Quartet Program West at the University of Wyoming, College of William and Mary, Old Dominion University, and Christopher Newport University. During her time in Miami, she was faculty at Miami Youth for Chamber Music and collaborated with members of the Bergonzi String Quartet. Her academic background is marked by a strong international foundation; as a teenager, she studied abroad for three years at the Utrechts Conservatory in The Netherlands. She holds a Master of Music, Artist Diploma and Bachelor of Music from Carnegie Mellon University, Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, and the Eastman School of Music. During her graduate studies, she served as the teaching assistant for both Charles Castleman and Andrés Cárdenes.