Nikolay Blagov joined the Orlando Philharmonic as acting second clarinet in the fall of 2006; he became the orchestra’s principal clarinet during the 2008-2009 Season.

Nikolay was born in Bulgaria and began his musical studies at the age of six; by 1994, Nikolay had already won five national competitions and was awarded third prize at the International Clarinet Competition in Lisbon, Portugal.  During his five years of study at the National Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, Nikolay was invited to play principal clarinet with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Bulgaria’s most prestigious orchestra; he has also played and toured with the Plovdiv Philharmonic and the Plovdiv Chamber Orchestra.  He won the principal clarinet position with the New Symphony Orchestra in 1995.

In 1999, Nikolay auditioned and received a full scholarship to continue his studies in clarinet orchestral performance at the Duquesne University School of Music, where he studied with Ron Samuels (second clarinet of the Pittsburgh Symphony). In 2001, he was accepted into the clarinet studio of Michael Rusinek (principal clarinet of the Pittsburgh Symphony) at Carnegie Mellon University School of Music.

Nikolay participated in the National Repertory Orchestra in the summer of 2003, and in December of that year he auditioned and was invited to participate in the Orchestra of the Nations as principal clarinet; Nikolay also performed with this orchestra in the summer of 2007. Nikolay was active in Pittsburgh’s local music community, being a permanent substitute with The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Wheeling Symphony, Westmorland Symphony, and McKeesport Symphony Orchestra. In 2005, Nikolay joined the Pittsburgh Live Chamber Orchestra as principal clarinet and remained in that capacity until his move to Orlando.