Student conductor, brown hair in a bun, black button up collared shirt, directing concert ban with baton against dark background.

Sam Nichols

Headshot of a man wearing glasses and dark shirt, neutral expression against gray backdrop

Professor of Teaching
Chair, Department of Music

  • Music
  • Ensemble Director
Room 1106, Music Annex

Sam Nichols is a composer who lives and works in California. He attended Vassar College (A.B. 1994) and Brandeis University (Ph.D. 2006). His composition teachers include Ross Bauer, Eric Chasalow, Annea Lockwood, David Rakowski, Richard Wilson, and Yehudi Wyner. He also studied analysis with Marty Boykan, and guitar with Terry Champlin. Since 2002 he’s taught in the UC Davis Department of Music; his subject areas include undergraduate and graduate courses in composition, music theory, and electronic music.

He’s received commissions from a number of ensembles and organizations, including the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Earplay, the Empyrean Ensemble, and the Composers Conference. If you’d like to learn more about his music, please visit samnichols.net.

Education and Degree(s)
  • A.B., Vassar College (1994)
  • Ph.D., Brandeis University (2006)