Nicholas Hatt, native to the Pittsburgh suburb of Beaver, Pennsylvania, is establishing himself as a prominent arts administrator, pedagogue, and performer. He received his Master of Music degree from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston and his Bachelor of Music from West Virginia University. Nicholas received his Doctor of Music degree from the College of Music at Florida State University, where he served as a teaching assistant to Shannon Thomas. His principal teachers and mentors have included Christie Kecskemethy, Mikylah Myers, Andrzej Grabiec, Paul Kantor, and Shannon Thomas.
A passionate educator, Nicholas has worked with students from across North America, Europe, and Australia. He currently serves as the Assistant Professor of Violin at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University. He is most notably the Executive Director and Artist Faculty for Violin at the Emerald Coast Chamber Music Festival and Institute. His current and former students are successful music educators and orchestral musicians. They have been accepted into prestigious summer music programs, such as the Brevard Music Center, Eastern Music Festival, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Hilton Head Chamber Music Institute, and many others. His students have also been accepted for violin studies at many reputable colleges and universities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
In addition to his private studies, Nicholas has had the pleasure to study with well-known violinists such as Midori Goto, James Ehnes, Noah Bendix-Balgley, as well as other prominent violinists from the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has also had the honor of working with renowned violin pedagogues, such as Lucie Robert and Shirley Givens, and has performed for legendary violinist Ida Haendel.
Nicholas has given numerous solo, chamber, and orchestral
performances across the United States and Canada, where some of his engagements have included performances at venues such as Heinz Hall, the New World Center, and Françoys-Bernier Hall. As an orchestral musician, he has performed with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as alongside members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Nova Scotia in festival ensembles. He is most notably the Assistant Concertmaster of the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, where he has also served as Acting Concertmaster; additionally, he holds a Section Violin position with Sinfonia Gulf Coast. Nicholas is also an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival and School, Eastern Music Festival, and orchestral fellowship programs at the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival and the Miami Music Festival.
A prize winning chamber musician, Nicholas is a founding member of the Velox Quartett. His other chamber performances have included collaborations with Masumi Per Rostad, Max Mandel, Shannon Thomas, Gregory Sauer, Joe Philips, Lynn Stodola, and Kenneth Slowik. He is also an alumnus of the Young Artist Program at the Scotia Festival of Music in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he has been featured as a part of the Highlight Concert Series. He has also attended the chamber music and solo programs at Le Domaine Forget International Music and Dance Academy. Nicholas was an Artist-In-Residence through the Atlantic Music Festival's Contemporary Ensemble Fellowship program.
Outside of the concert setting, Nicholas has also been invited to the set of KHOU-11’s Great Day Houston and NBC’s Studio 6 of Miami, Florida, where he was featured as a guest performer.