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Nicholas is a critically acclaimed composer, with music published by Hinshaw, Trinitas, Augsburg Fortress, Mark Foster and Oxford University Press. His large-scale work for solo soprano, chorus, organ, brass and percussion -"Magnificat" - was premiered at the National Cathedral in 1997, and was performed in a newly orchestrated version in May 2009. Other commissions include "Full Freedom", a piece for multiple choirs, instrumentalists and dancers, written for the annual choral tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in January 2002 at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC. He has received numerous commissions from choirs across the country, most recently from the Hanson Institute for American Music (Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY), Lyric Fest (Philadelphia, PA), Christchurch Cathedral (Cincinnati, OH), The Commonwealth Youthchoirs (Philadelphia, PA), The Chancel Choir (Lubbock, TX), The Association Of Anglican Musicians and Dumbarton Concerts (Washington, DC)
"Unashamedly beautiful, Nicholas White’s choral music makes you think about the function of music and how a composer decides on the rightness of its design... White’s music never cloys ... It’s beautifully crafted, the manner of word-setting stemming very much from the English choral tradition… music that soothes more often than it challenges, while still stimulating the imagination as it nourishes the spirit."
International Record Review ~ June 2007
Photo Credits:
B&W - Katherine Griswold
Color - Suzanne Ellinwood
Nicholas White’s musical career has evolved over a period of more than twenty years spent in the United States. He is a Grammy nominated composer and conductor, as well as a versatile organist, pianist and singer, with experience in many different styles of music. In 2011, Nicholas was appointed to the post of Director of Chapel Music & Organist at St. Paul’s School, Concord, New Hampshire, where he resides with his wife, the cellist Kate Jensik, and their young son, Eliot.
Nicholas has given many performances throughout the United States, and has a steady stream of commissions from musical organizations across the world. Immediately prior to his appointment at St. Paul’s, he was Artistic Director of Joyful Noise (Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus), a choral organization based in Northwest Connecticut, and Organist & Choirmaster of St. John's Episcopal Church, Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.
Nicholas was born in London, England, and received his early musical training as a treble chorister. He held his first organist and choirmaster position at the age of fifteen, going on to become organ scholar of Clare College, Cambridge, from 1986-1989. Since coming to the U.S. in 1989, Nicholas has held various positions in churches, colleges and schools. These include Washington National Cathedral (Assistant Organist & Choirmaster), Cathedral Choral Society (Keyboard Artist) and Woodley Ensemble (Music Director) in Washington, DC; St. Michael’s Church (Organist & Choirmaster), Dalton School (Choir Director), Columbia University (Adjunct Organist) in New York City.
In 2003 Nicholas founded Tiffany Consort, an ensemble of eight accomplished singers. The group's first CD, "O Magnum Mysterium" was nominated for a Grammy, and the second CD, "In Sure and Certain Hope: Choral Music of Nicholas White", was released in December 2006. Both recordings are available on the MSR Classics label. His all-Bach organ recording – “The Amsterdam Bach” – is available on the Pro Organo label. His work is also represented on the Gothic, Raven, Meridian and Gamut labels.