About Nick
Get to know Nick
Nicholas Psihountas most recently completed serving as
the Adjunct Professor of Tuba, Euphonium, and Trombone at Methodist University for
5 years. During which he also served as acting principal for the Fayetteville
Symphony Orchestra for 2 years. Before Methodist, he served as a Co-Instructor
for the Tuba & Euphonium studio at University of North Carolina School of
the Arts (UNCSA) where he both taught and performed regularly alongside Dr.
Mark Norman for two years. Most recently, Nicholas won the position of
Principal Tuba with the Durham Symphony Orchestra in 2024.
During his graduate studies at the University of
Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM), Nicholas was the winner of the Spring Concerto
Competition where he performed Richard Strauss’s Horn Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat
major, Opus 11 with the University. He was also a finalist in the UNCSA
concerto competition where he played Concerto for Bass Tuba by Ralph Vaughan
Williams. During his undergraduate studies Nicholas not only studied tuba performance,
but also played bass trombone in Bradley Palmer’s internationally renowned
Trombone Choir at Columbus State University (CSU). In Nicholas’s third year, he
was a finalist for the Southeast Regional Tuba & Euphonium Conference’s
Mock Military Competition.
Nicholas currently freelances as a teacher, musician,
and audio engineer throughout the greater Piedmont Triad Area in North Carolina.
During his time in North Carolina, he has been fortunate to share the stage
with renowned musicians such as Carol Jantsch, the Boston Brass quintet, and
even Andrea Bocelli. Nicholas has extensive performance experience on trombone,
euphonium, and tuba in both large ensembles and chamber settings.
As a musician, he has performed with a variety of
ensembles including the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra, Salisbury Symphony, Union
Symphony Orchestra, The American Music Ensemble, Giannini Brass, Wilmington
Symphony Orchestra, Piedmont Wind Symphony, and North Carolina Brass Band. He
actively plays with the Giannini Brass Quintet in their effort to spread music
to elementary schools across the Triad Area. Nicholas serves as a current
member for The American Music Ensemble, a ten-piece ensemble dedicated to performing
music by Great American composers of the 19th and 20th
Century. While he no longer actively plays with the group, he was a member of
UNCSA’s Chrysalis Brass Quintet program for three ½ years.
Since moving to Winston-Salem in 2017, Nicholas has
immersed himself as a low brass instructor in various programs including The North
Carolina Youth Brass Band, Charlotte Music School, Upbeat Music Company,
Community Music School of UNCSA, Music and Arts – Winston-Salem, and most
public schools in the area. Many of his students have found success in
auditioning for the North Carolina All-State Band, sometimes even placing first
chair. A few of his students have even continued to pursue degrees in music.
Having graduated UNCSA with a Professional Artist
Certificate, he remains actively involved with his Alma Mater in both
performance and recording. Nicholas also holds a Master’s of Music from UWM and
a Bachelor’s in music performance from CSU.