Dr. Nick Sullivan

After beginning his musical education in Lethbridge, Alberta, Nick Sullivan received a fellowship to undertake graduate studies at the University of Victoria. Unable to escape the lure of the Canadian West Coast, Nick returned to B.C. to continue his studies at the University of British Columbia, completing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Currently, Nick is on faculty at the University of Lethbridge teaching the low brass studio, and serves as the Recruitment and Retention Specialist for the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Nick has a passion for brass chamber music, and has performed in numerous chamber music settings. In 2007, his quintet was featured in the Canadian premiere performance of Eric Ewazen’s Shadowcatcher, a concerto for brass quintet and wind orchestra. He is a founding member of Aeris Brass (formerly the U of L Faculty Brass Quintet), as well as the Southern Alberta Trombone Collective (SATbC).

As a soloist, Nick enjoys searching for and commissioning new music for bass trombone, and has a keen interest in vocal works transcribed for low brass. Nick regularly performs as a recitalist throughout Western Canada, and has been featured as a soloist with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra, Lethbridge Community Gold Band, and the University of Lethbridge Wind Orchestra.

Active as an orchestral musician, Nick has worked with several orchestras across Canada, such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and presently performs with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony of the Kootenays.

Away from his trombone, Nick is a reformed-runner-turned-dog-walker, and can also be found working away in his garden or tending to his collection of Bonsai trees. Years of counting rests in the trombone section have given him a reserve of patience required to care for his miniature trees!

Nick Sullivan is a performing artist for Michael Rath Trombones.

Research/Publications

Performance Activities

Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra, Lethbridge Big Band, Metrik Jazz Tentet, freelance trombonist across Western Canada

Aeris Brass Quintet, Southern Alberta Trombone Collective (SATbC)

Solo recital performances with a focus on new works for low brass instruments, as well as vocal transcriptions for brass performance.

Publications

Rochut, Joannes, ed. Nick Sullivan. 12 Duos of J.S. Bach Arranged for Trombone, Selected from Bach’s Two Part Inventions. Victoria: qPress, 2016.