Gennady Nikonov was born in 1968 in Leningrad. From 1975–1982 he studied at the Music Boarding School No 38 on Rasstannaya Street (class of Sergei Bolotin). Thereafter he entered the Rimsky-Korsakov School of Music and in 1987 he entered the Leningrad Conservatoire. He won several prizes such as the 1st prize at the All-Union Brass Ensembles’ Competition in 1984 and the 3rd prize at the International European Conservatoires’ Competition in 1990.