About Nick

Nick Thompson is a versatile musician and educator based out of the Washington, D.C. area. He previously held the positions of Principal Clarinet with both the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra and the Lima Symphony Orchestra, as well as Acting Principal Clarinet/2nd and Eb Clarinet with the Flint Symphony Orchestra. He has also performed frequently with various other orchestras such as the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Kalamazoo Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, Canton Symphony, Akron Symphony, Berkshire Opera Festival Orchestra and many others. He was the winner of the 2022 American Prize in Instrumental Performance within the College/University division, and won the Second Prize in the 2021 Henri Selmer Paris International Academy Competition. He performed Mozart's Clarinet Concerto with the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra in 2022, Debussy’s Premiere Rhapsodie with the George Mason University Symphony Orchestra in 2016 and was a Finalist in the 2014 Jacqueline Avent Concerto Competition. Nick is currently a clarinetist with "The President's Own" United States Marine Band in Washington, D.C. ​

Nick has performed with the Maryland Chamber Winds and ÆPEX Contemporary Performance, and has been involved in several recording projects and world premieres with both groups. He has performed various solo and chamber recitals throughout the United States, Austria and South Korea. He is also a founding member of the Chamber Artists of Southeast Michigan (CASM) - a chamber music group founded in 2017 that has always been about bringing the highest caliber classical musicians together in order to present intimate live concerts, offer educational and scholarship opportunities, and to commission and perform new works of music from Michigan composers and composers of diverse backgrounds. More information about CASM can be found at: http://www.casmmusic.org

In addition to being a busy performer, Nick is a passionate educator throughout the Washington, D.C. area. Several of his students have gone on to pursue undergraduate music degrees, have held principal chairs in multiple of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Youth Ensembles, have been accepted to MI All-State and have received Superior rankings at both District and State level of Solo and Ensemble. Nick is currently beginning to build a private studio in Alexandria, VA. He has taught in the past at the Mason Clarinet Academy in the summer at George Mason University as well as the Potomac Arts Academy through George Mason University.
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A native of Great Falls, VA, Nick is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance and also graduated cum laude from George Mason University with a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance. He has primarily studied with Chad Burrow, Dan Gilbert, Kathy Mulcahy and Rochelle Oedemann, as well as performed in masterclasses for Richie Hawley, Ralph Skiano, Ricardo Morales, Diana Haskell, Eli Eban, J Lawrie Bloom and Loren Kitt. Nick has also attended the AIMS Festival in Graz, Chautauqua Institution and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival.