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Adult/Community Band

Conductor

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Todd Nichols

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The Eastern Wind Symphony, founded in the spring of 1996, is a professional level ensemble of approximately 65 musicians dedicated to performing the finest wind and percussion literature. The EWS membership consists of professional level musicians from the New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania areas. More than half of the members are music educators who teach in the NJ public school system. In addition, numerous members are freelance musicians, manage businesses, work in the sciences, or raise families. Whatever their vocation, all members of the EWS are accomplished and talented musicians who volunteer their time and enjoy performing the most highly regarded wind band repertoire in a high-caliber ensemble. Their reward is musical enjoyment at its highest level: music for music’s sake! The EWS has presented critically acclaimed performances at Carnegie Hall, John F. Kennedy Center, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Patriots Theater at the War Memorial. The EWS had the honor of being the first adult band in the state of New Jersey selected to perform at The Midwest Clinic in 2015 and will return for a second performance in 2020. In addition, the EWS has accepted invitations to perform at the 2019 Northeast Horn Conference, 2019 Association for Concert Bands National Convention, 2017 International Trumpet Guild Conference, and multiple NaFME Eastern Division Conferences. Artistic Director Todd Nichols and Assistant Conductor Adam Warshafsky currently guide the EWS to achieve its artistic goals, revitalize the community it supports, and bring unique and challenging musical experiences to both its members and audiences. In addition to establishing highly successful concert seasons at Richardson Auditorium in Princeton, NJ, the EWS performs in summer concert series in other local communities. The EWS has been invited to provide guest performances at regional music festivals, including the Music for All Metropolitan Wind Band Invitational. The past several years brought new opportunities for the EWS. Through a guest artist program instituted in 2009, internationally acclaimed musicians including Stanley Drucker, Phil Smith, Joe Alessi, Alan Bear, Greg Giannascoli, and Allen Vizzutti, have all performed with the ensemble. The EWS is proud to be active in commissioning for wind band from today’s leading composers, having commissioned six new works by Julie Giroux, Joseph Spaniola, Bruce Yurko, Kevin Bobo, and William Ryden. In order to fulfill the mission of giving back to the community and supporting young musicians, the Eastern Wind Symphony Youth Band was established in 2012 and is conducted by Mr. Warshafsky. The EWS has produced numerous commercial CDs of exceptional quality on the prestigious Klavier, Curnow Music Press, and MASTERS labels including the most recent recordings, Resurgence (2014), and Elements (2019). The Eastern Wind Symphony is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. All members perform for the love of music, and no member is compensated for his or her participation.

Eastern Wind Symphony

Conductor's Bio

Todd Nichols currently serves as Director of University Bands at Rutgers University. His duties include oversight and administration of the entire university band program, directing the Marching Scarlet Knights and Symphonic Winds, and teaching graduate conducting. He annually serves as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and recording producer and is especially honored to have guest conducted the United States Army Field Band. Nichols is an advocate for new compositions supporting the efforts of composers in over 20 commissions including Julie Giroux, Jim Stephenson, David Gillingham, John Mackey, Joseph Turrin, William Ryden, Kevin Bobo, Joseph Spaniola, Eric Whitacre, Bruce Yurko, and Dana Wilson. He received his BA in music from The College of New Jersey and MM in conducting from Messiah College. Nichols is currently pursuing his DMA in conducting and studies with Dr. William Berz. As Artistic Director for the Eastern Wind Symphony, Nichols conducted highly acclaimed performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, created an annual guest artist and conductor program, recorded the ensemble’s two most recent albums Resurgence and Elements, commissioned six new works, and is active in the development of the EWS Youth Band. Under his direction, the EWS has been invited to perform at major conventions including The Midwest Clinic in 2015 and 2020, 2017 NAfME All Eastern Convention, 2017 International Trumpet Guild Conference, 2019 Northeast Horn Workshop, and 2019 Association for Concert Bands National Convention. In addition, Nichols currently serves as Assistant Conductor for the Garden State Symphonic Band (Local 16-248 AFM). For nineteen years Nichols proudly served as a high school band director in New Jersey. His high school ensembles have been recognized for outstanding performance at numerous local, state, and national festivals. His Roxbury High School Wind Symphony performed at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Music for All National Concert Band Festival, and in 2008 at The Midwest Clinic. His Roxbury band was awarded the Sudler Flag of Honor in 2013 and performed at the 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show with Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Nichols was published in The Conductor’s Companion – 100 Rehearsal Techniques, Imaginative Ideas, Quotes, and Facts. He was inducted into the American Bandmasters Association and American School Band Directors Association in 2016, received the NBA Citation of Excellence, the NJ Governor’s Teacher Recognition Award, and was featured in an article for the Instrumentalist. His professional affiliations include the B1G, NBA, AFM, WASBE, and CBDNA. Nichols resides in Hillsborough, NJ, with his wife, Beth, and daughters Sarah and Emily.

Additional Directors

Additional Conductor Image

Adam Warshafsky

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