Peter Nickol

Composer and Music Editor

pnickol@ninoakes.freeserve.co.uk

 

Composing and Key Works Music Engraving Editing and Design
Writing Training Links Contacts

 

Composing and Key Works
  • Qualifications:
    BA (York)
    MMus (Exeter)
    PhD (Manchester)
  • SPNM shortlistings:
    Journey to a Birth for four solo male voices
    Praeludium for solo cello
    String Trio
    Fantasy for oboe and harp
    String Quartet
Key Works
  • In 2004, I was one of several composers chosen to write a piece for viol consort as part of a 'Remembering Dowland' project. The result was Still Life, for three viols and lute, first performed at the Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham, as part of the 2004 Cheltenham Festival.
  • In 2007 came a commission from the Exeter Festival Chorus for a piece to be performed in Exeter Cathedral that autumn. The concert also included the Gloria by John Rutter, and the piece I composed, Living Tree, shares the same orchestration: brass ensemble, harp and percussion. Living Tree uses texts from a variety of sources, and concerns the life of trees and of the huge population of creatures and plants that inhabit them and depend on them. 
  • In 2008, Exeter Cathedral commissioned a new piece for the cathedral choir and organ.  The result was Eddystone Song inspired by the famous lighthouse, and this was first performed in a candlelight concert at the cathedral in January 2009.
  • 2011 saw the inclusion of New Year by the John Armitage Memorial Trust in their annual concert of new choral music in March, conducted by Nicholas Cleobury. The London Schubert Players selected Sea, Shore and Tide for inclusion in their 2011 programme performing it in London and Paris.  'Slink' from Night Thoughts was chosen for inclusion in the new Grade 5 Trinity Guildhall piano syllabus.
  • The Madera Wind Quintet, based in Dallas, Texas, have chosen Ultramarine as one of their featured pieces for their 2012 season.

 

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List of Works

 Audio credits
Orchestral
Title Sound Date Dur' Forces
Tears and Dancing 2003 13 large orchestra: details on application
(Sound: University of Manchester Sinfonietta / Ruthven)
Commuter 2012 10 small (classical) orchestra plus percussion: details on application
Chamber
Title Sound Date Dur' Forces
Blue Romance 1995 3 fl & pf;  also fl & hp;  also fl & gtr
Serensina 1997, 2012 5 wind quintet, or clarinet quartet
References to Air 1999 5 cl, tpt, pf
L30 2000 4 bass cl, hp, perc
Aspects of Dawn 2000 10 fl, ob, cl, hn, vla, vc, db
String Trio    2000 13 (Sound: Rothko String Trio)
Piano Trio     2001 13
Views were expressed on both sides  2001 5 2 pianos
Fantasy    2002 6 ob & hp
(Sound: Okeanos - Jinny Shaw, oboe, Lucy Wakeford, harp)
Still Life 2004 5 viol consort & lute
String Quartet  2005 22 (Sound: Quatuor Danel)
Incline (1 in 9) 2006 5 bsn & pf
Ultramarine 2007 5 fl, cor, bass cl, hn, bsn
Nocturne: the Blackbird 2008 3 fl & gtr
Life Begins 2009 3 alto sax & pf
Serenade in F 2011 10 brass trio (2 tpts, hn)
Up Escalator 2012 5 fl, cl, pf or vln, cl, pf
Briefly (derived from Up Escalator) 2012 1 wind quintet  (picc, ob, cl,hn,bn)
Flow-Cameo 2012 1 fl, cl, pf
Instrumental solo
Title Sound Date Dur' Forces
Praeludium 1999 7 cello
Just Time 2000 3 harp
Icactus 2002 5 cello
Blue Mix 2002 5 piano
Night Thoughts 2004 8 clavichord; also piano
Song for H 2006 1 solo double bass or cello
(Sound: Catherine Wilmers, cello)
Blue Note 2008 1 piano
10 Miniatures 2010 12 clavichord or piano
80 Notes for V 2011 2 piano
Vocal and choral 
Title Sound Date Dur' Forces
Journey to a Birth 1997 10 solo male ATTB + optional db
Three Songs of Observation 1997 8 mezzo sop & pf
Lute Songs 2003 10 voice & lute; also voice & gtr
The Thought 2004 4 chamber choir (SSAATTBB) or 8 solo voices
Living Tree 2007 13 choir, brass ensemble, harp, perc, timps
New Year   2008 4 choir (SATTBB) & organ (Sound: Chapel Choir Selwyn College, Cambridge / Cleobury with Daniel Cook, organ)
Eddystone Song 2008 5 choir (SSAATB) & organ
Thou, my love 2009 2 choir (SATB)
During the Night 2009 3 mezzo soprano & pf
If I could shut the gate 2009 2 choir (SATB)
(Sound: Exeter Cathedral Choir / Millington)
Offer me Coffee 2010 8 voice & gtr
Tree-Heart 2010 2 voice & pf 
Sea, Shore and Tide 2010, 2012 12 mezzo-soprano, pf, str quintet (quartet +db), or mezzo soprano, str quartet
Virtue 2011 2 choir (SATB) unaccompanied
By the Sea 2011 1 choir (SATB) unaccompanied
Bury Me in a Free Land 2011 5 choir (SSAATB) & organ
The Worldly Task Done 2011 5 choir (SATB), sop solo, orch
Christmas carols
Title Sound Date Dur' Forces
Joy in the Morning 1997 2 choir SATB 
(Sound: Exeter Festival Chorus / Perrin)
Dubai Sky 2006 2 choir SSATBB + solo soprano from choir
Day to Dance 2006 2 unison voices & pf
Proofs 2011 2 SSA unaccompanied
Sweet was the Song 2011 2 SAAB unaccompanied
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Music Engraving

  • Professional computerised music engraving using Sibelius or Finale

  • Page design and fitting

  • Integration with text

  • High-quality print-ready or web-ready PDFs supplied

  • Clients include: Peters Edition, Schott & Co, Youth Music
Peter Nickol is the designer and lead tutor of the 'Editing and Proofreading Music' course run by the SfEP (Society for Editors and Proofreaders).
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Editing and Design
I offer a full service through editing, design, typography and page-fitting to delivery of PDF files. My specialism is music education of all sorts and at all levels - editing and coordinating book-CD packages (classical, popular, jazz, world, etc.)

Memberships
Society for Editors and Proofreaders - Advanced member
NUJ National Union of Journalists
ISM Incorporated Society of Musicians - South West Regional Councillor 2006 onwards

Another specialism is unsticking stuck books or projects: sometimes publishers face intractable problems, and simply don't know (or haven't the time to find out) how to unravel them. Troublesome cases may stem, for instance, from deteriorated author-publisher relations, or permissions issues, or the need for an audio CD. In such cases, through experience, good contacts and lateral thinking, I can work out a solution and make things happen.

Recent clients

Summary of Services offered:

Peters Edition   Project management
Trouble-shooting
Educational Company of Ireland   Integration of text and pictorial matter
Hodder Gibson   Preparation of print-ready or web-ready files
University of Liverpool Press   Design from scratch or to match existing publications
Page fitting for optimum efficient page-extent (number of pages)
What does 'Editing and Design' mean?

In brief, everything between the initial idea and the finished article, whether this is an educational package, or website. It starts with making sure the project is coherent and it includes the nuts and bolts of editing the text so that it reads easily and correctly, with making sure all the visual elements work properly together.
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Writing
Learning to Read Music
 by Peter Nickol 

How to make sense of those mysterious symbols and bring music alive.
Whether you want to learn how to play an instrument, or just refresh your existing capability, whether you sing in a choir, or would simply like to follow scores while listening, this book will help you achieve your aim. It leads you carefully through the basics of pitch, rhythm, keys, scales, chords, and much more, building your knowledge chapter by chapter until you are able to read music with ease. The visual index of musical symbols laid out at the start will make clear the task at hand. Reference to common instruments and familiar tunes will help bring your learning to life, while self-testing and chapter summaries ensure that you develop and retain this new skill. By the end of the book, you will have come a long way. Your knowledge of music notation will be a pleasure to you, and a useful tool. As well as its practical applications for any performer, this book will give you insights into how music is put together. You will have the feeling of knowing the music from the inside.
3rd edition 2008
ISBN 978-1-84528-278-3
£9-99
 

Pop Music: the Text Book
by Tony Bricheno, Peter Nickol and Julia Winterson
Pop Music is now a component of many courses in schools, colleges and universities; Pop Music: the Text Book has been written with the needs of these courses in mind. It traces the development of pop music through the twentieth century, investigating the influence of each generation upon the next. The forms and musical characteristics of different styles are identified, with profiles of some of the most influential musicians of each decade and a glossary of relevant musical terms. The book also includes extensive chapters on the development of music technology and examines the different roles of people working in the music industry, explaining the processes involved in making and selling a CD. Unlike many books on pop music, this one makes direct reference to the music throughout.
2003
ISBN 1-84367-007-0
£13-95
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Training

Editing and Proofreading Music  

Peter Nickol teaches this course for the SfEP (Society for Editors and Proofreaders).

Using a wide variety of examples, this course introduces the principles and techniques of editing and proofreading music: checking for its visual and musical sense; marking up a music manuscript; understanding the needs of the music setter; considering the differences between book publishing and music publishing, and between different styles of notation as they are used for different types of music. The interaction of music notation with surrounding text is examined, whether in an academic or educational context. Participants must be able to read music.

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Links
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Contact Information

For further information contact:

Peter Nickol

Telephone: 01392 255512
E-mail: pnickol@ninoakes.freeserve.co.uk

 

Peter Nickol is a Member of the
Incorporated Society of Musicians.

 

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