Concentration(s):
- Music
- Biology
Music Award(s):
- Rose Rosengard Subotnik Prize – 2021
- Margery MacColl Award – 2019
Honors in Music Project:
- Organ Sight Reading Anthology
Sight-reading is an extremely important skill for organists, as it allows for progression in many areas of musicianship and facilitates faster learning of new pieces. However, a dearth of easy organ music makes practicing sight-reading quite challenging. To address this, Nick created an anthology of deconstructed organ repertoire. The process of deconstruction involved carefully removing or simplifying voices and reducing the texture of the original score, in an effort to make the piece more “sight-readable.” The reduced examples are organized sequentially by difficulty, and they are accompanied by instructions that focus on improving five key elements of sight-reading progress: visual, tactile, auditory, cognitive, and emotional. To inform the ordering of the examples, Nick conducted a study involving organ student volunteers from American and Canadian universities to examine musical elements that contribute to relative sight-reading difficulty. The final anthology features a breadth of musical styles and textures, meant to encourage versatility in the organist’s sight-reading ability. The collection also serves to introduce the beginning organist to a wide array of composers. Music of composers from historically underrepresented groups is heavily featured, in an effort to highlight great works that have traditionally been overlooked.
Personal Statement:
Nick learned to play the pipe organ at Brown, studying in Sayles Hall with Prof. Mark Steinbach. He conducted his Honors Thesis project in the area of organ pedagogy. Nick sang as a tenor in the Brown University Chorus and the Bear Necessities A Capella Group, and as an alto in the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Schola. Outside of the music department, Nick had a second concentration in Biology. He has also worked in Emergency Medical Services across the state, including at Brown EMS, the Warren Fire Department, and the Westerly Ambulance Corps. Nick will be starting medical school this Fall.
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