ABOUT BRIAN
Brian Nozny’s career as a percussionist, composer, and educator spans a wide array of musical styles, including classical, jazz, world, and popular genres. As a percussionist, he has performed in an orchestral capacity with many orchestras such as the Macon Symphony, the Hilton Head Symphony, the Irving Symphony Orchestra, and currently serves as the Principal Percussionist with the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra. His excursions into chamber music have included collaborations with groups such as the Bravura Percussion Trio, the Copper Street Brass Quintet, the nief-norf project, and the Omaha Percussion Ensemble. Active as a jazz musician, he currently performs as the drummer with the Brickhouse Jazz Combo, in addition to freelancing throughout North Dakota.
As a composer, his original works and arrangements have been performed at respected academic institutions such as Indiana University, Northwestern University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Notable ensembles that have premiered Nozny’s compositions include the Troy University Percussion Ensemble, the Caixa Trio, and NEXUS. Brian’s most recent commission, an original work for percussion orchestra, Have You Ever Seen The Grand Canyon?, will be premiered by the Florida State University Percussion Ensemble in the Spring of 2013. Brian’s compositions have been published by Drop 6 Media, Henmar Press, and Innovative Percussion.
Brian’s extensive teaching experience includes positions both in the United States and abroad. In the summers of 2007 and 2008, Brian served as a faculty member for the Music for All Summer Symposium in Normal, Illinois, and was a percussion consultant for the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission in Kingston, Jamaica in 2007. From 2009 – 2010 Brian was a staff member of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps. Currently Brian is the Assistant Professor of Percussion / Assistant Director of Bands at Dickinson State University in Dickinson, ND.
Nozny holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia Tech, Master’s degrees in Composition and Performance from the University of Miami and the University of North Texas respectively, and his Doctoral degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Kentucky. His primary percussion teachers include James Campbell, John Willmarth, Mark Ford, Christopher Deane, Paul Rennick, Ed Smith, Ed Soph, and Ney Rosauro; his compositional training has benefited from study with Jon Nelson, Don Wilson, and Jon Polifrone.
Brian is proud to be endorsed by Evans Drumheads, Innovative Percussion, Pearl Corporation/Adams Musical Instruments, and SABIAN Cymbals.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“Brian is a leader in a generation of eclectic musicians. I find him to be an expressive performer, intuitive pedagogue, and gifted composer. I look forward to the next opportunity to work with him!”
James Campbell - Professor of Music, Director of Percussion Studies - University of Kentucky
“Brian is a very special talent — great player, singular composer, fluent in a wide variety of technologies and genres, and terrific colleague. I have had the pleasure of working with him in an assortment of professional settings and look forward to future collaborations.”
John W. Parks IV, D.M.A. - Assistant Professor of Percussion - Florida State University
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with Brian on several projects and have always been impressed with his professionalism and attention to detail. He is an excellent composer and I have personally programmed two of his works in the past few years. In addition, his presentations to students have tremendous pedagogical and professional value.”
Scott Herring - Associate Professor of Percussion - The University of South Carolina
“I met Brian at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, where he was finishing his DMA . He prepared some of my compositions for performance and we had some time to talk. I liked Brian and asked if he’d be interested in arranging for Nexus a recently published piano solo based on an early oil painting by John Cage. Brian agreed, completed the work, and Nexus has performed “Chess Pieces” on several occasions. It is marvelously orchestrated; a most welcomed addition to the Western Percussion Ensemble literature.”
Robin Engelman - Composer, conductor and author - Nexus member emeritus
