Louis Thurston Nicholas was born on October 2, 1910, the son of Jeff Thurston and Lottie Dunivant Nicholas. He received the A.B. degree at Southwestern at Memphis (now Rhodes College) in 1934, did post-graduate work at the Memphis College of Music from 1934-1938, received the M.Mus. degree at the University of Michigan in 1939, and received a diploma for Specialist in Music Education from Columbia University in 1952. He was married to Sarah Elizabeth Lacey on March 27, 1942, and they had three sons: Joel Edward, David Paul, and Kevin Lacey.
His career as an educator includes positions in Dyer County, 1928-1930, and Memphis, 1936-1941, Public Schools, and Instructor of Music at North Texas State Teachers College, 1941-1944. In 1944, Nicholas came to George Peabody College for Teachers, where he was a member of the music faculty until 1979. Shortly before his retirement from Peabody College, Mayor Richard Fulton designated April 29, 1979 as "Louis Nicholas Day" in Nashville. He served as the Chairman of the George Peabody College Summer Concert Series for seventeen years during his tenure. Nicholas has taught at Belmont University, Scarritt College, and Trevecca Nazarene College since his retirement from Peabody College.
Shortly after moving to Nashville, Louis Nicholas became the choir director of the First Lutheran Church, 1945-1946; he was also choir director of the West End Methodist Church from 1946 to 1957; choir director of the Vine Street Christian Church, 1958-1969; and tenor soloist, 1946-1977, and music director, 1959-1977, at The Temple, Congregation Shalom, 1959-1977.
Louis Nicholas is also a music critic of note, having held the position of Music Editor and Critic for The Tennessean in Nashville from 1951 to 1975. Among his affiliations and memberships are the National Association of Teachers of Singing, of which he is a charter member, and served as president from 1962 to 1963; the Music Teachers National Association; the Music Educators National Conference; the American Institute of Vocal Pedagogy, of which he is a fellow; the American Academy of Teachers of Singing; Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia; and Omicron Delta Kappa.
Nicholas is the author of Thor Johnson: American Conductor (1982) and a number of professional journal and magazine articles. He has also contributed chapters to Symphony Orchestras of the United States, edited by Carl Craven (1985) and The Choral Directors Guide (1967).
As a vocalist, Nicholas performed thirty-six programs without repetition, including a series of eight historical lecture recitals covering seven centuries and ten countries, and three series of important song cycles. In addition, he has made numerous appearances as an oratorio and orchestral soloist. He is known throughout the United States for his vast knowledge of vocal repertoire and has led many workshops and seminars in voice. His pupils have been soloists with the Nashville Symphony and other orchestras, members of the Metropolitan Opera and the Radio City Glee Club, and singers with Fred Waring and Robert Shaw.
Louis Nicholas still lives in Nashville, where he remains active in the Vine Street Christian Church, for which he serves as honorary elder, and in teaching voice.
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