Jonathan Nichol is an active performing saxophonist who champions new music and has presented concerts throughout the United States, Bosnia, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia and Thailand. He has premiered pieces by renowned composers including Marc Mellits, Charles Ruggiero, Forrest Pierce, Paquito D'Rivera, Daniel Wohl, Marvin Lamb, Jeffrey Loeffert, Igor Karaça, Tina Tallon and Drew Baker. Jonathan was a solo-artist semi-finalist in the 2009 Concert Artist Guild Competition and a finalist with the award-winning h2 quartet in the 2012 Concert Artist Guild Competition. Jonathan is also an accomplished orchestral soloist, having performed concerti with the Central Michigan University Symphony Orchestra, Grand Valley State University Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra, Oklahoma State University Wind Ensemble, University of Oklahoma Symphonic Band, University of Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra, Wichita State Symphony and Wichita State University Symphonic Winds. Additionally, he has been prominently featured with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Flint Symphony, Lansing Symphony, Norman Philharmonic, Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra and the West Michigan Symphony.
Jonathan is a founding member of the h2 quartet, recipients of the prestigious Gold Medal at the 2007 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and First Prize Award recipients at the inaugural North American Saxophone Alliance Chamber Music Competition (2008). The h2 quartet is a dynamic recording ensemble, releasing numerous albums on the Blue Griffin Recordins: Generations (2008), Times and Spaces (2010), Groove Machine (2012), Hard Line (2015), Enrapture (2016) and Soul Searching (2019). Each of these recordings has received critical acclaim in industry publications, and Groove Machine was selected by the American Record Guide as one of the best chamber music recordings of 2012. Jonathan has also recorded albums with the Boyd Street Brass Band, Billband, and the h2/4 duo with saxophonist Jeffrey Loeffert. "Sparkle," a piece from Billband's album Towards Daybreak, features Jonathan on soprano saxophone and was selected by NPR Music as one of the top 100 songs of 2013. Jonathan's debut solo album, Tenor Attitudes, featuring new works composed for the tenor saxophone, was released on Blue Griffin Recordings in 2017. With duo partner Jeffrey Loeffert, the h2/4 duo released an album of new music for two saxophones in 2018 also on Blue Griffin Recordings.
An active jazz musician, Jonathan has performed with Phil Woods, Randy Brecker, David Liebman, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony Jazz Band, the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra and The Four Tops. He leads his own jazz group, the Nichol Quartet, and is a member of Boyd Street Brass.
Jonathan is Associate Professor of Saxophone at the University of Oklahoma. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (2010) and a Master of Music (2007) from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Music Education (2005) from Central Michigan University. Jonathan's primary teachers include John Nichol, Joseph Lulloff, Robbie Smith, Diego Rivera and Rodney Whitaker. He is proud to be a Yamaha Performing Artist and a Vandoren Performing Artist.
