About the Artists

George Nickson, percussion

A percussionist and conductor of great versatility and virtuosity, George Nickson has been hailed by The New York Times as “a performer handling his role with ease and flair.”

George holds the Margie & William H. Seay Chair as Principal Percussionist of The Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Prior to joining the DSO, Nickson served as principal percussionist of the Sarasota Orchestra from 2012 to 2019. He received the Master of Music at The Juilliard School, where he studied with Daniel Druckman, and completed his undergraduate studies at the New England Conservatory with Will Hudgins. In addition to his position with the Sarasota Orchestra, Nickson has had the privilege of performing frequently with the orchestras of Boston;, Detroit; Washington, D.C.; Toronto; Honolulu; and San Francisco.

In addition to his post as adjunct assistant professor of percussion at Southern Methodist University, Nickson has served as a faculty member at The Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar and Ted Atkatz Percussion Seminar, and is currently percussion faculty at Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Lenox, Massachusetts.

As a noted clinician and teacher, Nickson has given masterclasses at University of Michigan, University of South Florida, Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention and the Florida Day of Percussion. Nickson performs with Vic Firth Drumsticks, Majestic Percussion, Mapex Drums and Zildjian Cymbals.

Recent highlights include world premiere concerto performances at ensembleNEWSRQ in Sarasota, Florida and at Tanglewood, solo performances at The Spoleto Festival, and solo recording projects that can be heard on NAXOS, Bridge and Albany Records. A champion of current and new music, Nickson frequently appears as conductor in notable performances with ensembleNEWSRQ and others, including world premieres, Charles Wuorinen’s New York Notes, Le Marteau sans Maitre of Pierre Boulez and Olivier Messiaen’s Colours de la cite Celeste.

Maurice Cohn, conductor

A two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Maurice Cohn currently serves as Assistant Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor with the Chicago-based contemporary ensemble Zafa Collective and is also the Assistant Conductor of the Aspen Music Festival for the 2022 season.

Recent and upcoming engagements include the Cincinnati Symphony, Utah Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Symphoria New York, and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Highlights of last season also include two world premieres, Mason Bates's Philharmonia Fantastique with the DSO, and Liza Sobel’s chamber opera I DID, DID I? with the Zafa Collective. In September 2022, Maurice was a finalist in the Guido Cantelli Conducting Competition, where he received the Orchestra Award.

Maurice spent two summers as a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, where he received the Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize (2019) and the Aspen Conducting Prize (2021). He recently received an M.M. from the Eastman School of Music, where he worked frequently with the Eastman orchestras and OSSIA New Music Ensemble. He holds a B.M. in cello performance from Oberlin Conservatory and a B.A. from Oberlin College, where he studied history and mathematics. When not conducting or playing cello, you can find him reading mystery novels, playing tennis, or continually searching for the best podcast app.