Nicola Cappellini first fell in love with the guitar by listening to flamenco. He began studying full-time at Ithaca College under Pablo Cohen, eventually having master classes with Jason Vieux, Costas Cotsiolis and Val Ramos. It was at that time he discovered Brazilian music playing with the groups Deixa Sambar and the Ithaca Choro Ensemble, which he would eventually lead.

Throughout 2008 Nicola lived in Rio de Janeiro, delving deeper into the roots of Brazilian music studying with Bilinho Teixeira. In 2009 he joined the Goza Latin band playing percussion in Hartford, CT. He has performed around New England, New York, Germany, Brazil, and Manarola, Italy, where he was born. Nicola is currently pursuing a graduate degree in ethnomusicology from UniRio, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.