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Adams Musical Instruments - Together in Music

Hans Nickel

The internationally acclaimed performer, teacher, clinician and adjudicator Hans Nickel was born in the Netherlands in 1958. He has held the position of solo tuba with the WDR Symphony Orchestra (West German Broadcasting Corporation) based in Cologne, Germany, since 1986. Nickel is Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, and also Senior Lecturer for Tuba and Euphonium at the Conservatory in Maastricht (The Netherlands). Many of his former students now hold positions in the world's top orchestras including the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

His playing reshaped the notion of what an F tuba should sound like.

Hans Nickel is particularly popular with ERASMUS students from Europe, and with students from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and always has a very international class. He himself has visited both Zaragoza and Madrid in 2019 in Erasmus exchanges in his role as Professor. Many of his former students are now holding positions in orchestras worldwide, whilst others are teaching at prestigious institutes.

As an orchestral guest, Nickel has appeared with most  European top orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle. 

Nickel's playing is seldom less than excellent and he engages the musical contours with panache

Hans Nickel frequently gives Master Classes and show-case recitals around the world, and performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician, having premiered many new works for tuba. 

He has performed the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto together with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, the Slowak Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Noord Hollands Philharmonisches Orkest, the Staatsorchester Braunschweig and the Philharmonischen Orchester Hagen. In 2014 he performed the John Williams Konzert für Tuba und Orchester together with the WDR Sinfonie Orchester in the Kölner Philharmonie.