Rising Star: 16-Year-Old Juilliard Student Hopes to ‘Bring the Flute to the Future’

Less than 10 percent of students who apply to Juilliard are accepted, and in 2022, then-14-year-old flutist Nikka Gershman was one of them.

In fact, the now-16-year-old is attending the prestigious school on a full scholarship, and her musical journey is only beginning.

She performed with a fellow-Juilliard student, pianist Saul Ibarra, at the school’s inaugural Fall Festival on Sept. 15.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How were you first introduced to playing the flute, and why have you continued all these years later?

A: Three days ago was my 10-year flute anniversary. When I was a child, it was a big deal to have a three-quarter birthday, and I was counting the months down until my birthday on Dec. 12. So on Sept. 12, it was my three-quarters birthday, and I was surprised with a flute. I’d been begging for it for a few months. It had actually come to me in a dream, and I woke up and I said, “Mama, I want a flute.” So I had been insisting for months. I was saying, “Please, please, get me a flute.” And then finally, I got the flute. I remember the very first sounds, and from the first note I played, I knew that it was my path for life.

Q: What is the composing process like?

A: The melodies come to my head at any random time. If it comes at night, I will briefly wake myself up, grab my phone, sing it into an audio voice recorder, then fall back to sleep. In the morning, I play it out on the piano and notate it. I originally started with piano before I played flute. I began playing piano when I was 3, and I was very serious about it until I was 11, but decided to focus on flute. Still, piano is one of my instrumental companions. It’s really great for my composition. You can fit the entire orchestra into a piano.

Q: How did you get involved with Juilliard?

A: I was studying at the Colburn Music Academy, I did 9th and 10th grade in one year online. I was scrolling through Instagram, and it said “24 hours left to apply to Juilliard.” I didn’t know I was going to apply until that moment. I said, “Mom, am I going to apply?” and she said, “Hang on, let’s call grandma,” and Grandma says, “Sure. Why not?” And my grandpa says, “Well, what if she gets in?” And she said, “Let’s not worry about it. She’s 14. Why was she going to get in with a bunch of 18-year-olds?” And my grandpa said, “She might get in, we should plan for it.”

A few months passed. 200 flutists auditioned that year; only 17 were invited for a live audition round, and they accepted 10 to the next round. It was so intense, and there was only one spot in my studio. I didn’t find out if I made it for three more weeks. I was ecstatic, and basically the school told me, “We’re offering you a spot on a full Kovner Fellowship, as long as a legal guardian accompanies you because you’re too young.”

Q: You said that your concert piece has grown with you since you were 11, what does that mean?

A: One of my teachers gave me this piece, and I just knew it was one of my favorites. I could hardly express myself at the time because I had the heart, but my technique was so limited. My interpretation has literally changed radically since then, and with the growth of my technique, I’m able to express myself so much more now. I always love taking my time with music. I want to give myself time to learn the piece—but not just learn it superficially, to learn exactly what the composer intended, to understand the purpose of each note and to live with it.

Q: How has that interpretation changed?

A: When I was first learning it, I was mostly focusing on getting the notes to actually sound. A lot of my dynamic range was much more compressed. I was mostly trying to just get through it with luck, and it was extremely challenging for me. Now, I was thinking about every nuance, how I should slow down and speed up and create a conversation between the flute and the piano.

Q: What goes through your head as you’re playing?

A: Performance, for me, is about communication. I’m always trying to make eye contact with my audience, trying to bring it on a personal level. For me, the point of music is to inspire others, to really penetrate the hearts and souls, and hopefully start a chain of good actions.

Another thing is for every note, I’m trying to find the exact right sound. On flute, it’s so difficult, because not only do we have to get our fingers to be perfect, every millimeter of the mouth has to be exact. Depending on the direction, speed and aperture of your mouth, the note can be completely correct or completely wrong.

Q: What would surprise people most about playing the flute?

A: People say that flute repertoire is limited, but there’s so much more that’s been undiscovered. One of my goals as a composer is to bring the flute to the future. I want to create more music for the flute. I’ve been writing a piece for flute and orchestra, for flute and piano or chamber ensemble, I even wrote a song for voice, and a flute played some of the solos.

I’m trying to push the flute into as much of a respected solo instrument as, say, violin or piano. One of my dreams is for young children instead of just, “I want to play violin” or “I want to play piano,” to think, “I want to play flute.”

Q: What’s next for you?

I was invited to perform a solo recital with Saul on Sept. 26, featuring my original composition. It’s going to be in the new, unveiled Juilliard studio at Lincoln Center, featuring both of us as soloists. The majority of the program will be us as a duet—it’s not flute versus piano, it’s flute and piano. The venue has glass walls, so not only can people attend inside for free, but also pedestrians can see a performance and musicians in action.

My biggest dream is to play as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic. The conductor is Kirill Petrenko, one of my heroes. I have his picture on my phone. I hope he reads this article, because I’m ready.

Q: If you could give your younger self advice, what would you say?

A: When I was very young, I would often resist practicing. What tipped me over the edge and made me really fall in love with flute was when COVID happened. I’m an only child, so flute was my best friend. That’s when I really started putting in the work. But I would go back and tell little Nikka, “Don’t work against yourself. Work for yourself.”

Q: How would you then react to you now?

A: Little me would expect it, honestly, because I saw my future from the very beginning. My hero from the first day was Marcel Moyse, and now I’m studying with his favorite student, the internationally renowned Carol Wincenc, so it’s the closest possible link to this incredible flutist. I’m fulfilling my dream — little me would really, actually believe it.