Biography
Nuiko Wadden ’02 is principal harpist of the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet orchestras and the Des Moines Metro Opera. She is also a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble and the Pittsburgh-based Kassia Ensemble and serves as a substitute harpist for the Pittsburgh Symphony.
Walden made her concerto debut with the Minnesota Orchestra in 2010 and has appeared as a soloist with the Skokie Valley Symphony and Shepherd School Chamber Orchestra. She has been a prizewinner in numerous competitions, including the Minnesota Orchestra Competition, and has been recognized in the Ann Adams, ASTA, American Harp Society, and Houston Tuesday Music Club competitions.
In addition to her orchestral and opera work, Wadden is an avid proponent of contemporary music. Over the span of her career, she has performed world premieres of both solo and chamber works by Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Suzanne Farrin, Christopher Cerrone, Missy Mazzoli, Paul Lansky, Pierre Jalbert, Hilda Paredes, Karim Al-Zand, and John Luther Adams, as well as numerous orchestral works.
Wadden is also half of the Pittsburgh ensemble TinyBeast, which is dedicated to performing new works for violin and harp, and spent 10 years as a member of the flute-viola-harp trio, janus. Additionally, she has recorded on the Naxos, MODE, Tzadik, Sono Luminus, and New World labels, and she appears on the inaugural opera recordings of Chris Cerrone’s In a Grove and Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up.
