MUSICAL DIRECTOR

Thomas Nikora

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Thomas Nikora joined Cantoris as Musical Director in 2016. Thomas was previously the choir’s accompanist for two years.

Thomas grew up in Masterton and attended Makoura College where he was awarded the school's top Kia Manawanui award. An accomplished pianist, playing since the age of 10, Thomas gained his LTCL certificate with Merit in 2010. At the end of 2016, Thomas completed his Bachelor of Music at the Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music under Jian Liu. Previous teachers include Angela Cook and Judith Clarke. 

Alongside his BMus. studies Thomas has performed concerts all over New Zealand
​from Dunedin to Hamilton and also further afield in the USA. He has also been a soloist with the Nelson Symphony Orchestra and Masterton Community Orchestra. In October 2015 Thomas performed Rachmaninoff's piano concerto No.2 with the Tawa Community Orchestra, which he now conducts.
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Thomas is certainly not a new face in choir circles having sung with Orpheus Choir,
​Nota Bene and Victoria Voices. He is the regular accompanist for Festival Singers and conducted several items on their recent C.D. "People of the Light". Thomas has also been the accompanist for several Cantoris performances in the past.

Thomas' musical interests include musical theatre, opera, late Romantic composers and contemporary works. He balances his love for music with interests in computer gaming and role playing.
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Thomas has high ambitions for the choir and aims to get them doing larger works with orchestra more often in the near future.
Past Musical Directors
Have a look at our past Musical Directors here.