About Nick

Dr. Nick Thompson is a versatile musician and educator based out of the Washington, D.C. area. He previously held the position of Principal Clarinet with the Flint, Youngstown, and Lima Symphony Orchestras. As a substitute and extra musician, he has performed frequently with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Alexandria Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Ann Arbor Symphony, and many others. Nick won the 2022 American Prize in Instrumental Performance within the College/University division and the Second Prize in the 2021 Henri Selmer Paris International Academy Competition. As a soloist, he has performed concerti and solo works by Mozart and Debussy, in addition to the world premiere of Giovani Briguente's Concerto for Clarinet and Band. He is excited to perform Copland's Clarinet Concerto with the Paragon Philharmonia in late April 2025, and Weber's Concerto No. 1 with the Rochester Symphony (MI) in May 2026. Nick is currently a clarinetist with "The President's Own" United States Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra in Washington, D.C.

He was featured as both principal clarinet and Eb clarinet throughout the Bolcom & Friends album made with the University of Michigan Symphony Band under the direction of Michael Haithcock. He also was a member of the large-scale ensemble that made the premiere recording of John Luther Adams' Sila: The Breath of the World during the COVID pandemic, which was later nominated for a GRAMMY in 2022.

As a deep lover of chamber music, Nick performs with a wide array of chamber ensembles. Nick is a member of the Newfound Chamber Winds (NFCW) based in Norfolk, VA, an ensemble made up of professional musicians and educators from across the country. With NFCW, Nick has been involved in several performances, educational outreach, recording projects and world premieres, as well as offering private lessons and coaching chamber music during the annual summer Chamber Music Fellowship Program.

​Nick is also the clarinetist for Duo Sori, a clarinet and piano duo formed in 2018 at the University of Michigan with pianist Minji Kim. Duo Sori won 2nd prize in the 2024 Lancaster International Chamber Music Competition and has performed extensively throughout the United States and in South Korea. Their repertoire showcases a wide variety of styles that delve into standard works and sonatas, transcriptions, and some of the newest compositions being written for the clarinet and piano medium. Nick and Minji are looking forward to their upcoming summer performances, first in June at the Hansong Summer Music Fest in Yangsan, South Korea, as well as their premiere performance at ClarinetFest in July, this year being hosted in Fort Worth, TX.

Lastly, he is a founding member of the Chamber Artists of Southeast Michigan (CASM), a chamber music group founded in 2018 with some of his closest friends during his graduate school and Midwest freelancing days. CASM has always brought 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.

​In addition to his life as a performer, Nick is a passionate educator throughout the Washington, D.C. area and beyond. He has given masterclasses across the United States at institutions such as George Mason University, Old Dominion University, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the University of Utah, Oakland University, Southern Illinois University, and others. Several of his students have gone on to pursue undergraduate music degrees or minor in music, have held principal chairs in multiple youth orchestras in the DC area, have been accepted to VA All-State, and have received Superior rankings at Solo and Ensemble. Nick currently teaches private lessons at Longfellow Middle School in Falls Church, VA.
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A native of Great Falls, VA, Nick graduated from the University of Michigan with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree and Master of Music degree in Clarinet Performance, and George Mason University with a Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance. He has primarily studied with Chad Burrow, Dan Gilbert, Kathy Gardiner Mulcahy, and Ralph Skiano.

Outside of music, Nick loves spending time with his wife Minji. Together, they love to travel to new and old places, eat great food, visit art museums, explore new cafes (for Nick, in the pursuit of the best light-roast coffee, while Minji finds the best matcha and tea), read books, and watch an abundance of movies and TV shows.