Nicholas Bardach timpanist/percussionist

was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick in Canada in 1954

He studied percussion at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, Belgium and achieved the "Deuxième Prix du Conservatoire". From 1975 to 1978 he studied with Prof. Christoph Caskel at the "Musikhochschule Köln" (Music Academy in Cologne, Germany).

Since 1978 he is a permanent member of the Bochum Symphony Orchestra (Bochumer Symphoniker). As timpanist/percussionist he plays virtually all instruments of the percussion section. Frequently appears as a Soloist and interpreter of contemporary music. With Steve Reich he has performed "Clapping Music". He was a co-soloist with Evelyne Glennie and Tabea Zimmermann. Compositions by Boulez, Stockhausen, Messiaen and Maderna have challenged him again and again as a soloist in his own orchestra. He has frequently performed as a free-lance musician in numerous orchestras and ensembles in Germany

From 1998 until 2016 Nicholas Bardach was director of the percussion class in the Musikhochschule (Music Academy) in Aachen. Together with Werner Otten (timpanist of Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest Amsterdam), later with Patrick Kersken (Aachen Symphony Orchestra) they represented the teaching staff of the percussion class in Aachen.

Nicholas Bardach has written various arrangements for ensembles. A transcription of pieces by Mussorgsky for Cello and Harp was published in 1995 at Verlag Merseburger in Kassel. The collection "Treasures of the Repertoire" for percussion and piano was published by Benjamin/Simrock in 1998 in Hamburg. Bardach arranged the historic percussion ensemble piece by Edgard Varèse "Ionisation" for 8 percussionists (originally for 13 players). Performances of this version have taken place in Bochum, in Dortmund (at the World Music Days in 1995) in Nürnberg and at the "Ruhrtriennale" in Essen in the summer of 2004. Ricordi music publications in Milan has the exclusive rights for this version.

He particularly enjoys the challenge of playing unusual instruments that always shall confront a percussionist in a new score. Has a special passion for the MUSICAL SAW for which he is a particular expert at. In April of 2004 he was guest artist and teacher at the International Percussion Days in Koszalin in Poland.

Contact

Nicholas Bardach
nick@bardach.de
Tel. +49-234-95 06 7101
mobile +49-177-2660882