New Ideas Chamber Orchestra NIKO is a string group known for their engaging and original performances, performing progressive classical music by heart, integrating the highest level of string mastery and minimalistic visual effects into their performances. The joy of making music, originality, courage and exceptional quality of performance - all these words fit to describe NIKO.
In recent years, NIKO has debuted in world-class halls and festivals, including the prestigious "Gewandhaus" in Leipzig, "Saint Martin-in-the-Fields" and "Roundhouse" in London, "Great Amber" in Liepaja, the concert hall of the Pushkin State Art Museum in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Odessa Philharmonic Halls, as well as Uzedom (Germany), Elverum (Norway), "Odessa Classics" (Ukraine), Toulon (France), Ventura (USA), Vilnius and other important European and American festivals. Radio station "Classic FM" with 5.5 million listeners per week in 2018. broadcast NIKO's live performance in London, and BBC World Service presented a ten-minute report about the collective, emphasizing NIKO's uniqueness and describing the collective as "really worth paying attention to". In 2019, the collective also appeared on the morning show of the US television channel Fox TV, which has a large audience.
The ensemble actively represents Lithuania during important diplomatic and cultural events in Lithuania and abroad, including performances during the global EXPO exhibition in Astana (Kazakhstan), the European Parliament in Brussels, receptions of foreign monarchs and state delegations in Lithuania, on the occasion of national and state awards, etc. Delegates of the Seimas of all three Baltic countries NIKO celebrated the centuries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia at the European Commission in Strasbourg. NIKO also appeared during the visits of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis to Lithuania.
NIKO collaborates with world-class performers, including maestro Kristjan Järvi and Martynas Stakionis, violinists Mari Samuelsen and David Nebel, cellists David Geringas, Vytautas Sondeckis, cellist and composer Peter Gregson. G. Gelgot's first symphony was performed by the "Extracultural" group together with the Central German Radio (MDR) Symphony Orchestra and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. NIKO's previous albums were recorded at the prestigious Peermusic Classical (Hamburg), Paramount (Los Angeles) and Metropolis (London) studios. The orchestra's active concert geography covers Europe, Asia and North America.
NIKO was founded in 2006 by the composer and conductor Gediminas Gelgot, the collective is a resident of Vilnius City Hall, constantly representing the name of Vilnius and Lithuania during important diplomatic missions. NIKO artists are laureates of many international and republican competitions, and the music of the group's artistic director, Gedimins Gelgot, is played at prestigious European festivals. In 2015, the composer was awarded the Vilnius Municipality St. Kristoforos Award and the Young Creator Award of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, in 2020 - the highest award of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania "Carry your light and believe".
"Performing works by heart and combining the idioms of popular and classical music with unconventional techniques of playing stringed instruments, incorporating singing or minimalist choreography into the performance, NIKO creates a stunning experience. The effect is mesmerizing, the result attractive to audiences of all ages" - concert curator Jud Newborn.
