CURATOR
Collective action has been a signature of Nick’s charismatic leadership since the days he was creating pick-up rock bands while studying at the Curtis Institute of Music. He went on to collaborate in the creation of the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), an innovative, self-governing, conductorless orchestra composed of friends and colleagues from music conservatories and music festivals across the country.
In 2020 Nick began his Artistic Residency at Lincoln Center in New York City.
Nick’s work at Lincoln Center is an exploration of genreless artistic expressions powered by Nick’s imagination and his desire to provoke, inspire, and delight. As Resident Artist, Nick curates unique musical collaborations connecting artists and their audiences in surprising and intimate settings across the Lincoln Center campus, charting a path for shared discovery.
Nick’s Artistic Residency at Lincoln Center is sponsored by Mrs. Veronica Atkins.
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Bringing old and new friends together in the spirit of celebrating human touch, connection and kindness, Nick united the young singers of YPC, the multi-instrumentalist and new “Late Show Band” leader—Louis Cato, and the rising powerhouse of the pop, R&B, blues, rock and moody trip-hop singer-songwriter Danielle Ponder in a holiday program.
With the iconic hustle and bustle of Broadway as the dramatic backdrop to the heart-stopping power of music, Nick made the Lincoln Center's three-story high glass atrium of Alice Tully Hall the fully transparent stage for the program, comprising Francisco Nuñez’s arrangements of songs by Simon and Garfunkel, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and John Lennon, J.S. Bach’s Chorals, Danielle Ponder’s original songs, beloved holiday tunes, and spirituals.
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Drawing on his diverse network of colleagues to create a series of unique collaborations, Nick presented this multifaceted four-evening event in an informal, improvised space in the porte cochere beneath Lincoln Center Plaza’s grand stair:
August 16: Steve Hackman featuring India Carney and musicians from the New York Philharmonic: Quan Ge, violin; Qianqian Li, violin; Cong Wu, viola; and Nathan Vickery, cello
August 17: Michael Thurber featuring Jon Lampley, Amber Iman, Mark Dover, Nêgah Santos, Justin Goldner, Michael O. Mitchell, Jimmy O’Connell, Jared Schonig, and Bobby Wooten
August 19: Becca Stevens, Nathan Schram, and Chris Tordini
August 20: Time for Three (Ranaan Meyer, Charles Yang, and Nick Kendall)
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As the inaugural event for his Artistic Residency, Nick presented YPC’s “Ready, Set, Sing!” the free, public, pop-up sing-along was part of the Restart Stages at Lincoln Center celebration—an initiative that reactivated Lincoln Center’s outdoor campus during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Lincoln Center’s The GREEN with Francisco Nuñez, Founder/Artistic Director of YPC, Nick hosted and accompanied the YPC choristers who performed live—for the first time in 16 months—songs from a mix of musical genres that reflect the rich diversity and sound of New York City, including “Funiculì, Funiculà,” “This Little Light of Mine,” “Hallelujah,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Bachata en Fukuoka,” and more.
“As a gateway to Lincoln Center, our presentations are dynamic reimaginings of the physical space and the experiences within – thoughtfully engaging our communities of music lovers.”