Born in October of 1995 in Fredericton, Thomas Nicholson has been composing since he started taking piano lessons at age 10. His first teacher, Louise Milner, gave him a solid foundation in theory through discussions in basic harmonic structures and small composition exercises along with piano technique. Since then, Thomas has studied locally with Anne Marie Murphy and Gérald Goguin, as well with past UNB Musician-in-Residence, Dr. Julien le Blanc. Currently, he studies piano with Dr. Stephen Runge at Mount Allison University, and theory (harmony, counterpoint) with Dr. Martin Kutnowski at St. Thomas University. He also studies viola with Ron MacDonald, a new found passion. After finishing high school, Thomas plans to study music composition at university.
Thomas Nicholson won the Robert Charlton Bayley Memorial Award for Original Composition in the Fredericton Music Festival 3 years running, and has won first place in the CFMTA National Music Writing Competition, Category B in 2009. He loves the rich, romantic textures of Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and currently is focusing on writing for orchestra and chamber ensembles.
