Nikola Tomić is an engaging and dynamic trumpet performer active in Upstate New York and the New York City area. Nikola’s versatility and enjoyment of soloist and background roles alike have taken him to stages all around the USA, as well as to Latin America and Europe. In Manhattan and Brooklyn, he has performed at venues including The Jazz Gallery, Swing 46, the Drawing Room, the Cutting Room, the West End Theatre, New World Stages, Silvana, St. Peter's Church, the Slope Lounge, Williamsburg Music Center, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the Miller Theatre at Columbia University. He has appeared at festivals including the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival, the Tri-C JazzFest, and the International Cervantino Festival.
Nikola serves as assistant professor of trumpet in the School of Music at SUNY Fredonia. He taught previously at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Longy School of Music of Bard College, Cornell University, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, and the Ithaca College School of Music. Deeply committed to education, Nikola is active as a teacher and clinician and has maintained a private teaching studio since 2003. He taught from 2010 to 2013 for the Eastman Community Music School, providing instruction in trumpet and music theory and working with the New Horizons Band Program, and was on faculty at the Ithaca College Summer Music Academy from 2013 to 2019.
In addition to publishing a blog on artistic and pedagogical topics here, Nikola regularly contributes CD reviews and articles to the International Trumpet Guild’s quarterly journal. His articles “Upward Spiral” and “Alternative Approaches to Warming Up” can be found in the March 2020 and June 2019 issues of the ITG Journal, respectively.
Nikola holds doctoral and master’s degrees in Jazz Studies & Contemporary Media from the Eastman School of Music and a bachelor’s degree in Trumpet Performance from Ithaca College. His teachers have included Clay Jenkins, Bill Dobbins, Harold Danko, Frank Gabriel Campos, and Steve Brown.
Upcoming Events:
May 3, 2026 - 7:00 to 9:30 pm - Fredonia Jazz Workshop Faculty-Student Jam Session at Blue Devil Lounge, Fredonia, NY
July 13 to 16, 2026 - Teaching at Capital Region Summer Trumpet Institute, Schenectady, NY
Recent Events:
April 5, 2026 - 11:00 am to 12:30 pm - Easter Sunday at Holy Trinity Parish, Hudson, NY
April 5, 2026 - 9:00 to 10:30 am - Easter Sunday at Holy Trinity Parish, Hudson, NY
March 18, 2026 - 3:00 to 4:30 pm - Trumpet Clinic at Alden High School, Alden, NY
February 28, 2026 - 7:30 to 9:00 pm - Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra “Dancing & Romancing” - Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY
December 10, 2025 - 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm - Holiday Jazz Concert with Nick Weiser at Domus Fare, Fredonia, NY
December 10, 2025 - 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm - Holiday Jazz Concert with Nick Weiser at Domus Fare, Fredonia, NY
December 5, 2025 - 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Secondary Trumpet Revisited: Myths and Methods - NYSSMA All-State Conference, Rochester, NY
November 15, 2015 - 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm - Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra “Clouds in My Coffee” - Kleinhans Music Hall, Buffalo, NY
October 9, 2025 - 8:00 to 9:00 pm - Faculty Recital of Dr. Chris Hotaling, Rosch Recital Hall, Fredonia, NY
September 20, 2025 - 7:30 to 9:00 pm - Sinatra at the Sands Reprise with Frank Torchio and the Russell Scarbrough Jazz Orchestra at OFC Creations Theatre Centre, Rochester, NY
June 30 to July 3, 2025 - Teaching at Capital Region Summer Trumpet Institute, Schenectady, NY
June 26, 2025 - 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm - Schenectady Brass Quintet for Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School Graduation at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
June 24, 2025 - 10:30 am to 12:00 pm - “Concert for One” with Ye Hu at Saratoga Senior Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
June 14, 2025 - 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm - The Upstate Composer’s Orchestra with Bobby Previte at Hudson Hall Gala, Hudson, NY
June 1, 2025 - 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm - The Upstate Composer’s Orchestra with Bobby Previte at Avalon Lounge, Catskill, NY
May 18, 2025 - 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm - Concert for Peace with Octavo Singers at First Reformed Church, Schenectady, NY
April 20, 2025 - 11:00 am to 12:30 pm - Easter Sunday at Holy Trinity Parish, Hudson, NY
April 20, 2025 - 9:00 to 10:30 am - Easter Sunday at Holy Trinity Parish, Hudson, NY
April 13, 2025 - 3:00 to 4:30 pm - Verdi Requiem with Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra and Octavo Singers at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
April 5, 2025 - 7:45 to 9:00 pm - Brucker/Weisse/Canterbury Jazz Orchestra, SUNY Albany Campus Center West, Albany, NY
December 14, 2024 - 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm - Frank’s Christmas in Vegas with Frank Torchio and the Russell Scarbrough Jazz Orchestra at the Kallet Theater, Pulaski, NY
December 8, 2024 - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm - Faculty New Chamber Music Concert - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
December 7, 2024 - 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm - Hudson Festival Orchestra Brass - First Presbyterian Church, Hudson, NY
November 23, 2024 - 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm - Berkshire Brass Quartet - St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Albany NY
November 9, 2024 - 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Octavo Singers with Organ and Brass Choir - First Reformed Church, Schenectady, NY
October 20, 2024 - 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm - Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
October 19, 2024 - 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra at Zankel Music Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
September 22, 2024 - 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
September 21, 2024 - 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
September 21, 2024 - 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
September 20, 2024 - 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
September 19, 2024 - 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
September 19, 2024 - 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
September 18, 2024 - 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
September 17, 2024 - 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm - Some Like it Hot at Proctors Theatre, Schenectady, NY
July 27, 2024 - 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany, NY
July 27, 2024 - 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany, NY
July 24, 2024 - 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm - Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Capital Repertory Theatre, Albany, NY
July 15 to 18, 2024 - Teaching at Capital Region Summer Trumpet Institute, Schenectady, NY
July 14, 2024 - 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm - Triphammer Big Band with Paul Merrill and Mike Titlebaum at CRS Barn Studio, Ithaca, NY