Nikolas Caoile is an American conductor, pianist, and percussionist. He was recently appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Lake Union Civic Orchestra. In 2010, he was appointed Music Director and Conductor of the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra. And, since 2006 he has served as Director of Orchestras at Central Washington University's Department of Music.

Early life

Caoile's father, Agerico Torio Caoile, is a self-taught musician born and raised in Manila, Philippines. His mother, Bachyen Nguyen Caoile, is an accountant born in Vietnam. Caoile started piano at the age of six. Later, he studied to become a

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and percussionist and was a member of

Portland Youth Philharmonic The Portland Youth Philharmonic (PYP) is the oldest youth orchestra in the United States, established in 1924 as the Portland Junior Symphony (PJS). Now based in Portland, Oregon, the orchestra's origin dates back to 1910, when music teacher Mary ...

. He received training under

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...

at the Olympia Symphony Orchestra; Bruce McIntosh, a professor emeritus at

Willamette University Willamette University is a private liberal arts college with locations in Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United States. Originally named the Oregon Institute, the school was an unaffiliated ...

; and Peter Erős at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. He eventually received his doctorate from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

under

Kenneth Kiesler Kenneth Kiesler (born August 18, 1953) is an American symphony orchestra and opera conductor and mentor to conductors. Kiesler is conductor laureate of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra where he was music director from 1980 to 2000 and founder and ...

and took a masterclass course in music with

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

at the

Career

Caoile's professional conducting debut was in 2002 with the Olympia Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, he conducted the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas in collaboration with Christopher Wheeldon's Morphoses Dance Company at New York City Center. From 2012 to 2016 Caoile was a conductor and artistic director of the Salem Chamber Orchestra. During those years, he also served as a guest conductor at the Gig Harbor Symphony, Northwest Mahler Festival Orchestra, and Lake Avenue Orchestras, as well as Rainier Symphony, Olympia Symphony, and Yakima Symphony Orchestra. Currently, he serves as a Music Director and Conductor of the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra, Director of Orchestras at

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Life ...

, and Music Director and Conductor of Lake Union Civic Orchestra. In an interview, Caoile said that his current orchestral interests include:

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest com ...

's symphonies,

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

scores, and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s. In 2018, Caoile conducted Central Washington University's Symphony Orchestra at the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

for Capital Orchestra Festival. In 2020, the CWU Symphony Orchestra was invited to perform at the

Midwest Clinic The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference is the world's largest instrumental music education conference, annually drawing approximately 17,000 attendees to Chicago from all 50 states and as many as forty countries. It is he ...

in Chicago. On November 14, 2020 Caoile made his debut as a piano concerto soloist, conducting and performing

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

' Piano Concerto No. 3 from the piano with the Wenatchee Valley Symphony Orchestra. In December of 2021, Caoile conducted the Central Washington Symphony Orchestra at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Under Caoile's direction, the orchestra performed

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...

, Ravel's Tzigane, and the world premiere of Karel Butz' Diamond Jubilee (for the 75th anniversary of The Midwest Clinic).

Personal life

Caoile is married to mezzo-soprano, Dr. Melissa Schiel (CWU professor of voice).

Awards

In 2016, he was awarded Outstanding Achievement in Orchestral Direction from the Washington State chapter of the

American String Teachers Association The American String Teachers Association (ASTA) is a professional organization for bowed string music teachers based in the United States. It is the largest organization in the U.S. for string teachers. ASTA serves teachers and students in all are ...

. In 2019, Caoile was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Citation from

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caoile, Nikolas 20th-century births Living people American male conductors (music) University of Washington alumni Willamette University alumni University of Michigan alumni Central Washington University faculty Year of birth missing (living people)