Nicole Wakabayashi

Nicole Wakabayashi is an American pianist, keyboardist, and music director currently based in London. Before her relocation to the UK, she established and led the Performing Arts Department at Notre Dame School of Manhattan in New York City. Her dedication to teaching was recognized in 2023 when she was named one of Yamaha’s ‘40 Under 40’ for excellence in music education.  

Nicole holds a Master of Music from New York University, Steinhardt School, where she studied with Van Cliburn Competition Gold Medalist, Alexander Kobrin, and served as adjunct faculty in piano studies. She earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California, under the tutelage of Daniel Pollack.

Her performance experience includes a notable NPR Tiny Desk Concert and GeniusLive session supporting mxmtoon, in addition to appearances at SXSW London, The Old Street Gallery (Shoreditch) , La Mama Theater for New York Fashion Week, the Apollo Theater and the Guggenheim Museum. Internationally, Nicole has performed at the Colegieta de San Juan Bautista in Gijon, Spain, the Palacete Viscontes de Balsemão in Porto, Portugal, and the Albignac Music Festival in Albignac, France. This summer, she will be a featured guest artist at the 10th Edition of the Porto Piano Festival. 

Beyond her keyboard focused work, Nicole has a rich vocal background. She currently sings with The Epiphoni Consort, a semi-professional, London-based chamber choir, who were recently awarded the Grand Prix Prize at the Tallinn International Choir Competition. Their performances this year have take them to the Battersea Arts Centre and Canterbury Cathedral. In the United States, she was a member of Downtown Voices at Trinity Church in New York City. Highlights include the premiere of Benedict Sheehan’s GRAMMY-nominated Akathist and a Carnegie Hall collaboration with the Buffalo Philharmonic for the Lukas Foss Centennial Celebration. Nicole is currently developing her debut EP and enjoys cooking and skiing.

My goal as a musician, director and educator is to bring humanity, inclusivity and empathy to teaching and music making. Singing together has a profound impact upon our world and I am lucky to be a part of this musical community.