Nic Meyer

Jazz II Studio Band Director | Chicago, IL

Nic Meyer serves as Director of Jazz Ensembles at New Trier High School, where he oversees a comprehensive jazz program consisting of four large jazz ensembles and many jazz combos. Under his direction, New Trier’s Jazz Ensemble 1 has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Jazz Education Network Conference, and Illinois Music Educators’ Conference. His groups have traveled to New York and New Orleans on several occasions, opening for Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra at Snug Harbor and Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland. While on tour the band has participated in workshops with The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Delfeayo Marsalis and his band, and members of the Juilliard Jazz faculty. In concert New Trier’s Jazz Ensembles have performed with notable jazz artists including Joey DeFrancesco, Conrad Herwig, Christian McBride, Dennis Mackrel, Lauren Sevian, Terell Stafford, Bijon Watson, Jeff Hamilton, Seamus Blake, Tanya Darby, and Alexa Tarantino. Recent New Trier jazz students have been participants in The Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony, The GRAMMY jazz band, the Vail Jazz Workshop, Next Generation Jazz Orchestra at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and the YoungArts program.

Prior to joining the New Trier faculty, Mr. Meyer was the Jazz Program Director at Midwest Young Artists in Highwood, IL and was a sought-after private lesson instructor. He continues to teach at Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, WI, and is an active clinician and adjudicator. He serves the jazz education community through various roles with the Jazz Education Network, and has contributed numerous articles to Downbeat magazine. Mr. Meyer holds a B.M. in Music Education from DePaul University and his M.M. in music education is from Northwestern University. He took a sabbatical during the 2019-2020 school year and completed a Graduate Diploma in saxophone performance and composition at McGill University in Montreal. Mr. Meyer is a 2019 recipient of the University of Chicago’s Outstanding Educator Award. In addition to teaching, Mr. Meyer maintains a busy schedule as a professional saxophonist in Chicago. 2024 is Meyer’s 10th summer leading a band at Birch Creek.