A South Carolina native, Nic Kanipe is an oboist and Teaching Assistant in the Doctor of Music program at Florida State University where he is studying with Dr. Eric Ohlsson. Prior to beginning this program, Nic studied with Dr. Reid Messich at the University of Georgia for his BA in Music Performance and Florida State University for his master’s degree in Music Performance with Dr. Eric Ohlsson. Nic actively teaches lessons and leads classes for the oboe studio at FSU in addition to holding a small private studio of his own. During July 2022, Nic was also a guest clinician for the Thomas County Middle School band clinic and their subsequent audition clinic in September of the same year.

In addition to teaching, Nic is an active performer with the FSU Symphony Orchestra and Wind Orchestra as well as other groups in the north Florida area. Since autumn of 2021, Nic has been an intermittent substitute player with both the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra and Tallahassee Community Chorus Orchestra throughout various performances in their concert seasons. Nic has also been a substitute oboist and acting English Hornist for the Panama City Symphony Orchestra since October of 2022. In March of 2023, Nic will also be joining the FSU Symphony Orchestra as assistant principal oboist on their week-long tour through South Florida and the Dominican Republic.

Chamber music is a constant presence and joy in Nic’s life through his engagements in chamber recitals for his colleagues at FSU and his role as oboist in the Fountain Five Wind Quintet which he helped found in October of 2021. Since its formation, the Fountain Five been actively performing recitals and various gigs around the North Florida area including a premiere of Debussy’s La Mer arranged for Wind Quintet and Piano by Tyler Taylor, outreach concerts in Seaside, Florida on behalf of Sinfonia of the Gulf Coast, and outreach concerts in Thomasville, Georgia in collaboration with the South Georgia Ballet. In addition to competing in the semifinals of the Music International Grand Prix, Nic and his colleagues in the Fountain Five are looking forward to another spring of recital performances and a stand-alone performance in Panama City through the Panama City Symphony Orchestra in May.

Throughout June 2022, Nic was a guest artist with Inspire, a new music collective based in Tallahassee, Florida, where he was involved in multiple recording projects including the world premiere (im)Balanced by Matt Ramage. In December 2022 and spring 2023, Nic was a guest performer and teacher in Thomasville, Georgia where he and his Fountain Five colleague Josie Whiteis (bassoon) performed double reed outreach performances and taught lessons to students at Thomas County Central High School.

When Nic has time away from teaching, performing, and honing his craft, he enjoys spending time with his friends and family, spending time in nature, and reading a good book in his armchair.