Still in the early stages of a brilliant career, Nils Mönkemeyer has again and again showcased his artistic brilliance and innovative programming, talent that has brought him international acclaim while igniting an enthusiastic and growing interest in his signature instrument, the viola.
Under exclusive contract with Sony Classical, Mönkemeyer has released five CDs in the past two years, garnering both critical praise and prestigious awards. All of his recordings have risen to the top echelons of the German classical music charts. Mönkemeyer has attempted to trace the milestones of the viola in these albums, from his discovery and premier recordings of original 18th century manuscripts, through to modern pieces and his own transcriptions.
Mönkemeyer’s concert career took off at an early stage, during his student days under the tutelage of Harolf Schlichtig at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. During that time, he received a number of awards including first prize at the 2006 International Yuri Bashmet Viola Competition in Moscow, as well as the top prize at the German Music Competition in the same year. In 2009 he claimed the renowned Parkhause Award in London, along with Nicholas Rimmer. Going full circle, Mönkemeyer has recently accepted a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich.
This follows two years as professor at Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden and a stint as assistant professor at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia Madrid.
The artist’s concert projects include collaboration with the WDR Radio Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Bremen Philharmonic, the Nuremberg Philharmonic, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Potsdam Chamber Academy, the Berne Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra and the Moscow Soloists under the direction of Yuri Bashmet. Mönkemeyer works regularly with directors Michail Jurowski, Reinhard Goebel, Michael Sanderling Cornelius Meister, Rafael Fruebeck de Burgos and Christopher Hogwood to name a few.
Mönkemeyer is a regular guest at international festivals and concert halls, including London’s Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Hamburg Music Hall, the Konzertverein in Vienna as well as concert stages in Munich, Dresden, Baden-Baden, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, and Bremen. He has appeared in such festivals as the Rheingau Music Festival, Gidon Kremer’s Chamber Music Festival, Lower Saxony’s Music Days, the Heidelberg Spring, the Mecklenberg Vorpommern Festival and the Mozart Festival in Wuerzburg. He will be appearing for the second time as an Artist in Residence at the Festival Mitte Europa.
The artist’s regular chamber music partners include Julia Fischer, Nicholas Rimmer, William Youn and Christoph Poppen. Mönkemeyer’s instrument was produced in the Munich workshop of renowned violin maker Peter Erben.