Nicholas Atkinson
principal tuba
Nicholas Atkinson was born in Manchester, England, and came to Canada in 1957. He began his musical career playing tuba and string bass with Canadian Army bands and later graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Music in Performance. He subsequently studied extensively with the legendary Arnold Jacobs of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He also holds a Master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Ottawa. He began a doctorate, but was soon diverted by the fine weather outside.
Since moving to Ottawa in 1973, Mr. Atkinson has been an active tuba player and teacher. He was a member of the RCMP Band for fourteen years and has played with the National Arts Centre Orchestra since 1976. He has been a soloist with the Orchestra on numerous occasions and has taken part in several recordings.
During the 1989 season he was principal tuba with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, beginning a long association that included many international tours and six recordings for London/Decca. One of the busiest tuba players in Canada, he has performed with all of the major orchestras. He has also performed and made several recordings with the Hannaford Street Silver Band.
As a chamber musician, Mr. Atkinson has been a prominent member of several brass ensembles and is a founding member of the Rideau Lakes Brass Quintet, Ragtime Brass and Capital BrassWorks, all of which have been featured on CBC broadcasts and recordings. Every summer since 1993 he has organised large-scale brass concerts at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival.
Mr. Atkinson taught at Queen’s University for ten years and at the University of Ottawa from 1977-2004. He is a well-known brass coach and has given clinics all over the country. In 2006 he was invited to be the low brass instructor for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. Mr. Atkinson is a performing artist for Besson and Yamaha. His many hobbies include reading (wide-ranging and assiduous), cryptic crosswords (occasional bursts of intelligence), and golf (dangerous fanatic).
October 2006
Visit the Music Resources Questions and comments page to read Mr Atkinson's responses to questions e-mailed to him by kids from across Canada.
