Nick Petrella

Nick Petrella is an Entrepreneur-In-Residence in the John S. and Marlene J. Brinzo Center for Entrepreneurship, and is an Assistant Professor in the College of the Arts where he leads efforts in Arts Entrepreneurship and teaches percussion in the Glauser School of Music. An advocate of Arts Entrepreneurship, he co-founded Arts Entrepreneurship Podcast: Making Art Work in 2020. Heard in nearly 90 countries, the interview-style podcast highlights how entrepreneurs in the arts are aligning their artistry, passion, and vision to create value throughout the arts ecosystem. He has given arts entrepreneurship and music business lectures at universities throughout the US and in the UK. In 2018, he co-presented “The Entrepreneurial Mindset from Theory to Practice: Developing What Entrepreneurs Value in Their Young Colleagues” for the GenNext series from the College Music Society at the National Association of Music Merchants Convention.

Nick has extensive music business experience. From 2000 to 2019 he was the Director of Education for SABIAN Ltd., where he was responsible for sales, marketing, and artist relations for the Band and Orchestra/Educational division. Early in his career, he worked in retail and as a drumstick distributor. Since 1992, he has been a consultant to companies in the music products industry and has designed 14 percussion implements, accessories, and instruments currently on the market. In 2014, Nick was presented with the President’s Industry Award from the Percussive Arts Society. He has published numerous articles in US and European music journals and is the author of two Carl Fischer publications: “The Ultimate Guide to Cymbals” and “The Multiple-Percussion Book,” which was translated into French, German, Italian and Spanish. In 2006, Nick and Diane Petrella published The Musician’s Toolbox, Thoughts on Teaching and Learning Music.

As a performer, Nick has commissioned and premiered over a dozen compositions and has many solo and chamber music performances to his credit. He has performed regularly with the Kansas City Symphony and the Fort Worth Symphony, and on select engagements with the Fort Worth/Dallas Ballet, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Michigan Opera. In 2002, he and pianist Diane Petrella formed the Petrella Ensemble, which has appeared throughout the US, Europe, and Mexico. Nick has appeared as a clinician, adjudicator, teacher, and performer in over 30 countries.

Nick previously taught at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Oakland University, Texas Christian University (TCU), and the Royal Northern College of Music, where he developed a percussion pedagogy course. Additionally, he served as the percussion instructor/arranger for the marching bands at the University of Michigan, the University of Iowa, and TCU. Twice, Nick has been the percussion coach with the World Youth Orchestra and in 2008 was the percussion coach for Xenakis’ Pleiades at the BBC Proms Festival in Royal Albert Hall. Under his direction, the TCU Percussion Ensemble performed as the first percussion ensemble invited to the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

Nick received a DMA from the University of Iowa, an MM from the University of Michigan, and a BS in Music Education from Penn State University.