Celebrating Faculty Excellence: Music Professor Dr. Nicholas Terry and His Ensembles Receive Prestigious Awards From award-winning projects to new music releases, CoPA faculty continue to make their mark on a national level.

The College of Performing Arts is proud to celebrate the recent achievements of Music professor and Director of Percussion Studies Dr. Nicholas Terry, whose leadership in music continues to shine on local and national stages. Brightwork Ensemble, a musical project that Dr. Terry helped establish 12 years ago, is a regular performer at Monk Space, one of Los Angeles’s most dynamic venues for contemporary music. This past June, Brightwork presented a show called Pop Up at Monk Space, earning multiple honors in the San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Awards, Los Angeles: Favorite Vocal Recital and Favorite Small Venue. Another award, Favorite Opera Singer, was awarded to Stacey Fraser, who performed that night alongside Dr. Terry. Pop Up also featured a collaboration with Chapman alum and trumpeter Jeremy Dávalos and Grammy-nominated violinist Shalini Vijayan, a highly respected professional musician who frequently performs for Sony and FOX studios, the LA Chamber Orchestra, and the Hollywood string quartet, Lyris Quartet. The collaboration stands as a testament to the professional readiness fostered through Chapman’s music program and the success of its graduates in working alongside top-tier industry musicians. 

Recently, Brightwork won a grant from New Music USA and was selected into the Los Angeles cohort of New Music Inc, an incubator program supporting small, artist-led music ensembles.

In addition to live performances, Brightwork recently launched its own streaming record label imprint, Brightwork Digital. One of the label’s first releases, Isla—a piece for vibraphone, flute, and electronics—was filmed on Chapman’s very own campus and features Dr. Terry performing.

Brightwork also demonstrates a strong commitment to community through its High School Composer Initiative, an annual program that mentors young composers in partnership with composer and multimedia artist Nina Shekar. Through this initiative, the ensemble encourages the next generation of musical voices.

Partch Ensemble, another major project by Dr. Terry, has also received national recognition. The group was recently awarded a grant from the New Music Organization Fund from New Music USA. Eighty-three ensembles nationwide were selected, highlighting some of the most active groups in contemporary music.

This past September, Partch released an album titled “Harry Partch: The Wayward First Complete Recording Bridge 9611,” a portion of which was recorded right here at Chapman University in January 2024. Over three days in Crean Hall, Chapman students studying recording and sound engineering were invited to observe the professional recording process—offering them an up-close look at industry-level production happening in the very spaces where they learn. The project marks Partch’s second major album since their 2014 Grammy-winning recording with Bridge Records.

The ensemble continues to share this music. Each June, Partch performs two concerts at CalArts’ REDCAT Theater, part of the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex, where they recently presented a live performance of the same piece, featuring Nick Terry on “the Boo”.

These achievements showcase not only Dr. Terry’s artistic talents and leadership abilities, but also the influence of Chapman’s faculty in shaping the future of music. We congratulate him and his ensembles on these well-deserved honors and look forward to witnessing their continued success!