Sam Nichols is a composer who lives and works in Northern California.
He's received commissions from a number of ensembles and organizations, including the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Earplay, and the Composers Conference at Wellesley College. He recently won the 2011 Lee Ettelson Composer's Award for his string quartet, Refuge. He's also received awards and fellowships from the League of Composers, the University of Illinois (3rd prize, 2010 Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Prize), the Composers Conference, and Montalvo Center for the Arts, among others. He's been involved in a number of electronic music projects, producing several multi-media installations in collaboration with sculptor Robin Hill, and also performing with percussionist Chris Froh. Upcoming projects include a piece for voice and ensemble for the Emyprean Ensemble.
Born in Maine, he attended Vassar College (BA, 1994) and Brandeis University (MA 1999, PhD 2006). He works as a lecturer in the UC Davis Music Department; he also teaches in collaboration with the Cinema and Technocultural Studies program. In the spring of 2011 he received the UC Davis Academic Federation Award for Excellence in Teaching. He lives in Woodland, CA, with his wife (the composer Laurie San Martin) and their two daughters.