Sam Nichols

Sam Nichols is Professor of Teaching and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of California, Davis, where he has taught composition, music theory, and electronic music since 2002. He holds a PhD from Brandeis University (2006) and an AB from Vassar College (1994). As an active composer, he has received commissions from prominent organizations including the Fromm Music Foundation and the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble.

His research and creative work centers on contemporary composition, electronic music, and interdisciplinary sonic art. He explores innovative notations, hybrid acoustic-electronic performance, and the intersection of music with narrative and spatial experience. His work often engages with extended instrumental techniques and textual sources, as seen in pieces like things that had no opposites.

His recent compositions demonstrate a strong focus on chamber and solo works with electronics, including Hinterland, Imaginary Units, and ghost walk echo/drone song switch. These pieces reflect ongoing interests in timbral exploration, real-time processing, and collaborative performance. His orchestral work This Is Not a Toy for a Child premiered in 2024 with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra.

• Fromm Foundation Commission (2014–2015)
• Honorable Mention, Lydian String Quartet Commission Contest (2012)

Sam Nichols is deeply involved in academic and artistic leadership. He directs the Empyrean Ensemble, co-organizes the UC Davis Sound Lab with Bob Ostertag, and curates the Taproot New Music Festival. He advises graduate composers and regularly collaborates with students on new works. He has no listed grants, but his commissioned projects indicate sustained external support for his creative research.

He leads the Empyrean Ensemble, a professional new music group in residence at UC Davis, and co-founded the UC Davis Sound Lab, a hub for electronic music and sonic art. These initiatives foster collaboration between faculty and students in experimental music practices.