Hi, I’m Nick!
I began learning Coldplay songs on the piano around the eighth grade. In high school, my friends finally convinced me to join the marching band after two years of me telling them I wasn’t interested. I ended up really enjoying it, and went on to perform with a Drum and Bugle Corps for five years! I learned to play the vibraphone, then the xylophone, and finally the marimba. I discovered a deep love of music, and decided that that was what I wanted to go to college for! I graduated from Montclair State University in 2019 with a degree in Music Theory/Composition and an instrumental focus in Percussion. Since then, I’ve been working to develop my writing an playing abilities further. I love composing new music as well as arranging music in different styles and instrumentation.
My Approach To A Typical Lesson
I believe in giving my students the resources and building blocks to learn and understand concepts on their own. This can help them to grow organically and not feel as if they are simply being spoon-fed information. I also love posing questions to my students to encourage critical thinking. I am a huge proponent of the fundamentals: a good foundation in technique and music theory can support the student as they grow into the type of musician that they would eventually like to be!
My Advice For Students
Discover what you like about music, and strive to learn more about it. Exploring new concepts and developing your taste can become a huge part of the fun! We have an incredible amount of music both past and present available at our fingertips. Even if you spent your entire life playing, you would never run out of things to learn. It may seem intimidating, but everyone needs to begin somewhere!
My Favorite Local Places
NJPAC in Newark, NJ
Rockwood Music Hall in NYC
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC
My Music
I’m a composer who loves percussion, electronic music, and minimalism. This is a recording from my Senior Composition Recital of a jazz piece titled “Frazil”. It was written about ice crystals that form under moving bodies of water called “frazil ice.”
