Dear friends and colleagues,
At the beginning of this past college football season I decided that after 7 great years working with the University of Washington Drumline, it was time to pass the torch. It goes without saying that it has been an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience, but as we all know, nothing good lasts forever.
Going forward, I will be focusing almost all time and energy on my performing career. Outside of that, I’ll still be available for lessons locally and via skype as well as creating more online content for the world as I was quite regularly a couple years ago.
I want to thank all the students, educators, musicians, and professionals that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet and work with during this time for consistently striving to exceed the standards and expectations put before them and for inspiring me to do the same in the ways that I could. I want to thank David Reeves for his initial belief in me, and for all the years of first-class mentorship. Without question, it’s shaped me for the better and I simply cannot thank him enough. I also want to thank Dr. Brad McDavid for agreeing to hand me the keys to the city in 2009 when David finally retired. You are one of the most diplomatic leaders I know. We did some amazing work together and I know you will continue to make Huskynation proud. I also want to thank Steve Henry for being the best right-hand man in the world since 2010. Steve is the recipient of the torch and has my mind at peace when I think about what will become of the drumline in my absence. Steve is there– they’ll be just fine. Finally, I also want to thank my parents for, in 2002, agreeing to shoulder the bulk of my student loan debt from the UW. Without that, none of this would have ever been possible. To this day, there is nothing more motivating to me than the thought of that one decision that you both generously made. Thank you so much.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that I’m done with marching percussion even though the scope is presently narrowing. I still plan on arranging, consulting, adjudicating, and giving back in whatever ways that my schedule will allow. I’ve become a more motivated and organized person because of marching percussion and I’ll never forget that. If it makes sense to return in a larger capacity at some point in the future, I’ll always consider it. It’s an activity that I love very much and I hope it continues to grow.
The older you get, the more you realize that if you’re going to expect your dreams to come true, then you have to be willing to make room in your life for that to happen. Sometimes that involves large-scale change. For me, this is a decision that needs to happen right now while I’m still healthy and have the opportunity. I encourage any and all to do the same for your respective dreams.
Thanks HMB family for the memories, and go dawgs.
-Nick
PS- Bridget Griffin is the best there is.
