Masterton-born, Wellington based pianist, musical director and conductor Thomas Nikora’s journey began at the Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music (NZSM) under the guidance of pianist Jian Lu.

 

In 2016 Thomas became the Music Director of Cantoris Choir whilst holding positions as accompanist of Festival Singers, Orpheus Choir and director of Wainuiomata Singers. During this time he was singing with Nota Bene, the principal keyboard player for Orchestra Wellington and later took on the role of répétiteur for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Thomas has kept an extensive roster of positions and is now currently working as accompanist at NZSM, director of music at St. Peter’s on Willis and more recently the founder and artistic director of the St. Peter’s Orchestra.

 

Thomas has a background in playing a diverse range of music from all genres. From a young age he was brought up listening to heavy metal and still has an eclectic taste in music and enjoys playing in every style from baroque to musical theatre. This broad expertise allows him to teach in a wide variety of genres. Thomas aims to encourage and inspire the development of any student with a variety of different methods. Sight reading and technical skills are important to him but not at the expense of repertoire.