Biography
Nikhil Bartolomeo is a clarinetist, conductor, and educator based in New York. Engaging his diverse areas of interest, Nikhil enjoys bringing to life music which traverses stylistic boundaries. He is particularly interested in finding the intersectionality between jazz, western ‘classical’ music, and new music. Nikhil has performed with Silkroad Artists, Ensemble X, the PRISMA Festival Orchestra, DARQ Ensemble, Philharmonia Boston, and the Ithaca New Music Collective. He has participated in masterclasses with Charles Neidich, Ayako Oshima, Daniel Gilbert, Osiris Molina, Alain Desgagné and Dimitri Ashkenazy.
Also an active saxophonist, Nikhil has worked with several professional theater companies as a woodwind doubler. Well versed in the jazz idiom, Nikhil completed a concentration in jazz studies at Ithaca College, studying saxophone, improvisation, and arranging with Michael Titlebaum and Nicholas Weiser. There he became an often-featured soloist, and lead alto saxophone with the premier jazz ensemble.
As a conductor, Nikhil has worked with various groups throughout the northeast including the Cornell University Wind Ensemble, the Boston Conservatory Clarinet Choir, and his own self-formed reading orchestra. He was a fellow at the 2020 Cortona Virtual Conductor’s Summit, and participated in the 2017 Northeast Wind Conducting Symposium.
In addition to performing, Nikhil has worked as a composer and arranger, with two of his arrangements featured by saxophonist Grace Kelly and the Ithaca College Jazz Ensemble, as well as a reinterpretation of Duke Ellington’s music which was premiered on his 2017 recital. An advocate for music education, Nikhil has presented an educational concert at the NYSSMA conference. He is currently a Teaching Asistant at Stony Brook University, where he teaches undergraduates, as well as a studio of local students.
Nikhil is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree in clarinet performance at Stony Brook University, studying with Alan Kay. Nikhil also holds a M.M. from Boston Conservatory and a B.M. from Ithaca College. His previous teachers include Michael Norsworthy, Jan Halloran, Richard Faria and Michael Galvan.