Originally from Saint Louis, Missouri, Nick's early oboe career developed in South Florida where he pursued his undergraduate work with Robert Weiner at the University of Miami and graduate work with Jared Hauser at Lynn Conservatory. While studying at Lynn, Nick's oboe teacher won the professorship at Vanderbilt University, and Nick was fortunate enough to continue his studies with Joseph Robinson, former principal oboist with the New York Philharmonic, finishing his Professional Performance Certificate and Master's Degree.
Nick freelanced and taught oboe in South Florida for over 15 years to much local acclaim. There, he also met his wife, Isabel, and their daughter, Helen, was born. Growing weary of the freelance life, Nick began to do some soul searching and was looking for a change. Amid that same time frame, through Jared’s recommendation, Nick met Jason Onks, owner and technician at Onks Woodwind Specialists in Smyrna, Tennessee. Always a tinkerer, Nick was able to show his potential as a repair person and the Thompsons quickly decided to move to Tennessee for Nick to start a new career in repair when Helen was just one year old.
Especially thankful for all of his oboe teachers, Nick's cumulative experiences in oboe went hand-in-hand with his position at Onks Woodwind Specialists where he worked for over 5 years. Nick learned the repair trade in a different than normal circumstance, where most of the focus specialized in oboe, and most servicing of the instruments were either highly comprehensive or complete mechanical overhauls. Jason's business model of encouraging fully comprehensive work is one of the reasons why Nick decided to apprentice with him. Other reasons include the Onks shop working exclusively with Hannah Selznick, “The Oboe Fairy” as well as an ongoing collaboration with Laubin. Very few shops had Paul Laubin's approval, and as a Laubin player, learning to properly set up Laubin oboes was especially rewarding.
While working at Onks as a full time repair specialist, Nick has continually strived to include teaching and performing as much as possible into his schedule, teaching oboe at the University of the South in Sewanee for three years and performing with local ensembles, including the Knoxville and Huntsville Symphony Orchestras, Nashville Repertory Theater and the Nashville Opera. Nick also started a reed business, “Tip Top Reeds," where he sold reeds for a few years and enjoyed helping oboists from that standpoint. He has since rebranded his reed business name and focuses solely on repair work.
Nick is extremely grateful to his mentor, Jason, but Tennessee was not meant to be for the Thompsons. In Fall of 2022, they decided to relocate to Portland, Oregon and start a-new once again. During the cross-country planning period, Nick subsequently found a local audition opening for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra USA in Washington and is now proud to be considered a core member. He also subs regularly with other high-level ensembles such as the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. An experienced performer, reed maker, teacher and repairer, Nick truly is well rounded as an oboe specialist and is here to help advise and supply his services to you for any of your oboe needs.