SINGING
Nicholas was born in Johannesburg. At the age of ten he was the runner-up in the Golden Voice of South Africa singing competition run by the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir School. The following year he joined the school, where he spent the next four years. During this time he was firstly the lead treble soloist and then the leading tenor soloist.
Nicholas completed his school career at St John’s College in Houghton. He then went on to complete a Bachelor of Music Degree, specialising in vocal performance, at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits). During his studies at Wits he received both the Elizabeth Connell/Samro and Joyce Barker vocal awards. In August 2003 Nicholas won the South African Music Rights Organisation overseas scholarship award for singing and thus furthered his singing studies in London with professors from the Royal College of Music.
Nicholas’s voice may best be described as being a “lyric tenor”. He has a wide repertoire but specialises in Oratorio, Lieder and Songs from the Shows. Among his stage performances he has played the role of Percival Brown in ‘The Boyfriend’1993, The Lord High Chancellor in Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘Iolanthe’ in 1994 and 2009, and Major-General Stanley in ‘The Pirates of Penzance’, 1998, 2003, 2006. Ko-Ko in the ‘Mikado’, 2007, Giuseppe in ‘The Gondoliers’, 2008.
He has performed as a soloist with the Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, Bach Choir of Johannesburg, Bach Choir of Natal, Bach Choir of Pretoria, Drakensberg Boys’ Choir, Bonisodumo Choristers, Port Elizabeth Oratorio Choir, Chanticleer Singers, Côr Meibion Cymru de Affrig, Philharmonia Choir of Cape Town, University of Johannesburg Choir, University of Pretoria Choir, St Mary’s School Choir and St John’s College Choir.
Nicholas’ oratorio repertoire includes Bach’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’, St John & St Matthew’s Passion as the Evangelist, his cantatas ‘Christ lag in Todes Banden’ and ‘Magnificat’; Beethoven’s Fantasia op. 80, Mass in C Major op. 86; Britten’s ‘Rejoice in the Lamb’ and ‘Hymn to St Cecilia’; Richard Einhorn’s ‘Voices of Light’; Faure’s ‘Requiem’; Handel’s ‘Messiah’, ‘Dixit Dominus’; Haydn’s ‘Creation’, ‘Nelson Mass’, ‘Missa Sancti Nicolai’, ‘Stabat Mater’, and ‘Kleine Orgelmesse’; Karl Jenkins’ ‘The Armed Man’; Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’; Monteverdi’s Vespers; Mozart’s Mass in C K317, and Requiem; Rachmaninov’s Vespers; Ramirez’s ‘Misa Criola’, ‘Navidad Nuestra’; Rossini’s ‘Petit Messe Sollenelle’, and Schubert’s Mass in G. His song cycle repertoire includes Hofmeyer’s ‘Allenstryd’, Mahler’s ‘Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen’, Schubert’s ‘Schöne Mullerin’ and Schuman’s ‘Dichterliebe’.
He has also appeared with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra in the very popular ‘Starlight Classics’, ‘Last Night of the Proms’, 702 Mother’s Day Concert at the Zoo and has performed at the Classic FM soirées and National Budget dinner hosted by Rand Merchant Bank. Nicholas is also a regular star performer at the annual National Arts Festival held in Grahamstown. Nicholas has also been a member of the acclaimed South African choir the Chanticleer Singers since 1994 and is also very involved with the musical activities at Christ Church Midrand where he often leads the worship.
