Dr. Jonathan Nichol, Director of the University of Oklahoma School of Music, is an acclaimed saxophonist, educator, and recording artist whose career spans performance, teaching, and leadership.
A prolific recording artist, Dr. Nichol has released 19 commercial recordings since 2009, with recent projects published by Blue Griffin Recordings. His music is available on all streaming platforms and includes Eight Saxophones (2024), Ship of Theseus (2023), Extended Horizon: The Saxophone Music of Marvin Lamb (2022), Solace (2021), Infinity Mirror (2020), and Are You Ready? (2020). His performance of Sparkle, a soprano saxophone feature on Billband’s Towards Daybreak, was named by NPR Music as one of the Top 100 Songs of 2013.
As a performer, Dr. Nichol has appeared nationally and internationally as both soloist and chamber musician. He was one of three saxophone soloists invited to the semi-final round of the Concert Artists Guild Solo Competition in 2009, performing at Yamaha International Headquarters in New York. As a founding member of the h2 Quartet, Dr. Nichol won a gold medal at the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in 2007 and that same year the ensemble was the inaugural winner of the North American Saxophone Alliance Chamber Music Competition. In 2011, h2 was also named finalist in the prestigious Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York.
Dr. Nichol’s students have consistently excelled in national and international competitions, earning more than 80 recognitions between 2015–2024. The Onda Sonora Saxophone Quartet won the bronze medal at the 2024 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition, and students have advanced to finals at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference Quartet and Solo Competitions. Individual honors include Caleb Dodson’s quarter-finalist finish at the Adolphe Sax International Saxophone Competition (2023) and Ethan Roberts’ quarter-finalist performance at the Naumburg Competition (2022).
In recognition of his teaching and mentorship, Dr. Nichol received the University of Oklahoma Distinguished Teaching Award in 2017, one of the institution’s highest honors for undergraduate instruction.
Alongside his artistic work, Dr. Nichol is a dedicated academic leader. Since 2022 he has served as Director of the OU School of Music, where he oversees faculty, students, and curriculum at a comprehensive R1 university. He has guided program expansion, enrollment growth, and collaborations across disciplines, while continuing to champion saxophone performance and education at the highest levels.
Dr. Nichol is a proud alumnus of Central Michigan University and Michigan State University. At Central Michigan, he studied saxophone with his father, Professor John Nichol, before completing graduate study with Joseph Lulloff at Michigan State. He is proud to be a Yamaha Performing Artist.