Combining equal parts lyricism and devotion to rhythm, Nikola Tomić is an engaging and dynamic New York City-based trumpet performer whose versatility and enjoyment of soloist and background roles alike have taken him to stages around the United States, Italy, Mexico, Ireland, and Costa Rica. In New York, he has performed with groups including the David Berger Jazz Orchestra, the Erica Seguine-Shan Baker Jazz Orchestra, the Marc Schwartz Octet, and the Jonathan Parker Octet at venues including The Jazz Gallery, Swing 46, the Drawing Room, the Cutting Room, the West End Theatre, New World Stages, St. Peter’s Church, Williamsburg Music Center, and the Miller Theatre at Columbia University. He has appeared as a jazz artist and chamber musician at festivals including the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, and the International Cervantino Festival.
Nikola regularly contributes CD reviews to the International Trumpet Guild’s quarterly journal. His article “Alternative Approaches to Warming Up” can be found in the June 2019 issue of the ITG Journal. Nikola publishes a blog on artistic and pedagogical topics on his own website, and is an active freelance editor and consultant for both academic and more casual writing about music.
Nikola holds the D.M.A. and M.M. in Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music and the B.M. in Trumpet Performance from Ithaca College. His teachers have included Clay Jenkins, Bill Dobbins, Harold Danko, Frank Gabriel Campos, and Steve Brown.