Described by The New York Times as agile, compelling and irresistible, Antwerp-based guitarist Nico Couck (b. 1988) started playing the instrument at age 15. In 2013 he obtained his Master’s degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp, under the guidance of Professor Roland Broux. Since 2010 he won several awards at e.g. Radio Klara Festival, Laboratorium III (ChampdAction), and the International Lions Music Competition. In 2014 he was awarded a Kranichsteiner Stipendienpreise for interpretation by the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt. His repertoire varies from Baroque to contemporary music with a dedicated focus on present-day developments in music.

In addition to concerts in Europe, Asia, Central America, and the U.S., past events and venues include Acht Brücken Köln, Barbican Centre, Cité de la Musique Paris, Festival Internacional Cervantino, Huddersfield Music Festival, Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt, MaerzMusik Berlin, Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Nationaltheater Mannheim, NUNC! Chicago, Sochi Winter Theater, Transit Festival, Vlaamse Opera, Warschau Autumn, Wien Modern, Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik, and others. Past performances have been broadcasted on France Musique, WDR3, Radio Klara, SWR, and others.

He has collaborated with and premiered works by Oscar Bianchi, Chaya Czernowin, Jason Eckardt, Clemens Gadenstätter, Sofia Gubaidulina, Johannes Kreidler, Brigitta Muntendorf, Hilda Paredes, Stefan Prins, Eva Reiter, Simon Steen-Andersen, Steven Takasugi, Serge Verstockt, amongst several others. Conductors he collaborated with include Alain Altinoglu, Yuri Bashmet, Georges-Elie Octors, Titus Engel, Clement Power, Michel Tabachnik, and Claudio Vandelli.

Besides his activities as soloist, Nico Couck is a member of Nadar Ensemble, appears regularly with Hermes Ensemble, Klangforum Wien, SWR Ensemble Experimental, and is artist-in-residence at ChampdAction. In addition to performing, he currently is assistant professor of guitar and chamber music at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp.

Nico Couck plays a 2014 Kim Lissarrague classical guitar and a modified 2015 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster electric guitar.