Nicolas Gerpe

Pianist Nic Gerpe, a Los Angeles native, has been hailed as “magnetic” (Dan Johnson, L.A. Downtown News) and “prodigious… heroic” (Kevin McMahon, silverlakeblvd.com). L.A. Times music critic Mark Swed described his playing as “wonderfully illuminating… his tone is crystalline. His technique is dazzlingly fluid.” A dedicated proponent of new music, Nic has given numerous world and regional premieres by composers such as John Luther Adams, Frederic Rzewski, Anne LeBaron, and Gernot Wolfgang, among others. Nic has performed throughout Southern California and at festivals including the Ojai Music Festival, Banff International Keyboard Festival, the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice at the New England Conservatory, and the Tahoe Chamber Music Festival. Nic has been selected as the newest Core Artist for Los-Angeles new music organization Piano Spheres, and has performed in such venues as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Zipper Hall, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and the Roy and Edna Disney Cal Arts Theater. Nic’s performances have also been nationally broadcast on 91.5 KUSC and classicalkusc.org.

Nic’s recent works include the Makrokosmos 50 Project, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of George Crumb’s seminal work Makrokosmos Volume I. He has commissioned eleven composers to join him in writing musical responses to one movement of Crumb’s epic masterwork and to create a whole new celestial cycle. Nic premiered this program at the San Francisco Center for New Music and Tuesdays at Monk Space, and gave additional performances at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and at Walt Disney Concert Hall on the 2022 Noon to Midnight Festival. His performances of The Makrokosmos 50 Project and his subsequent studio recording of the program have garnered significant critical acclaim.

Nic is the co-curator of the Wicked GOAT concert series at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, which seeks to introduce younger audiences to contemporary music. These themed concerts feature exciting programs performed by some of Los Angeles’ top musicians, and include immersive and multimedia elements.

Nic has performed as a soloist in modern piano concerti by some of today’s most talented emerging composers. He gave the World Premiere composer Dale Trumbore’s piano concerto “10,000 Hours” with the USC Thornton Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Donald Crockett. He also participated in the 2012 Piatigorsky International CelloFest, performing the American premiere of Thomas Demenga’s “Relations”, a double concerto for two cellos, percussion and prepared piano. He also recently performed Reena Esmail’s “Earth Speaks”, a concerto for piano, horn and SATB chorus, with the Pasadena Master Chorale, conducted by Jeffrey Bernstein.

Nic has performed with Los Angeles-based ensembles such as Brightwork newmusic, WildUP and The Industry L.A., and premiered new works for Magnetic Resonator Piano with People Inside Electronics. He has performed with such world-renowned artists as Martin Chalifour, Hila Plitmann and Judith Farmer. Nic’s playing is also featured on composer Gernot Wolfgang’s GRAMMY-nominated chamber music album “Passing Through”, released in 2016 on the Albany Label.

Additionally, Nic has given guest artist recitals and masterclasses at the University of California, Los Angeles, California State University Los Angeles, Cal State University Sacramento, and Pasadena City College.

Along with violinist Pasha Tseitlin, Nic is the co-founder of Panic Duo, a violin and piano duo dedicated to the performance of contemporary music. The Duo has performed in Los Angeles, San Diego, Escondido, Paso Robles and other venues throughout the United States. Performance highlights include concerts at Boston Court Performing Arts Center and The Phoenix Concerts in New York City, as well as guest artist recitals at Cal Arts and Cal State L.A.

Nic earned his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Piano Performance at the University of Southern California in 2012. He studied extensively with Bernadene Blaha, Kevin Fitz-Gerald and Stewart Gordon. He has also worked with Earl Wild, Arnold Steinhardt, Robert Lipsett, and Stephen Drury. Nic has been on the Piano Faculty of the Pasadena Conservatory of Music since 2006. He joined the faculty at Scripps College in the Fall of 2024.