An internationally recognized leading double bass soloist and chamber musician, Nico Abondolo was appointed principal double bass of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in the 2011-12 season. He made his debut at age 14 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and in 1983, became the first double bass ever to win first place in the International Competition for Musical Performers in Geneva, Switzerland. Since then, he has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout the United States and Europe.
Nico regularly performs chamber music at the Ojai and St. Bart’s music festivals, La Jolla Music Society SummerFest and with concert: nova, an exploratory chamber ensemble. Recent highlights include collaborations with eighth blackbird at the Ojai Music Festival and performances of Stravinsky’s L’histoire du soldat under Esa-Pekka Salonen, Schubert’sTrout Quintet with the Brentano String Quartet and John Adams’ Shaker Loops and Tan Dun’s Quintet with the composers conducting. He has appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has toured with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Claudio Abbado, Sir Georg Solti and Lorin Maazel.
Nico has premiered solo works of Sofia Gubaidulina and Henry Brandt. He was the double bass for the New York-based ensembleCONTINUUM and for eight seasons, served as principal bass for San Francisco’s GRAMMY®-nominated New Century Chamber Orchestra. He has composed for several New York and West Coast dance companies, performing with them at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Merce Cunningham Studio and the La MaMa Experimental Theatre (New York). He has received commissions from concert: nova and Chamber Music Unbound. Additionally, he serves as principal bass for many motion picture composers.
Maintaining a busy schedule of master classes at music schools throughout the country, Nico is also the double bass professor at the Music Academy of the West and a guest professor at Azusa Pacific University. Previously, he was a faculty member at the USC Thornton School of Music and UC Santa Barbara. He studied with Dennis Trembly, Peter Mercurio and Gábor Rejtő at USC; David Walter and Albert Fuller at The Juilliard School; and Franco Petracchi in Italy.