Bio
Nicholas DiMaria is a trumpeter, composer, and teacher born in Syracuse and based in New York City. His music is described by audiences as introspective, passionate, and progressive; influenced by jazz, hip-hop, and classical music. Nicholas has led groups at Carnegie Hall, The Northeast Wine and Jazz Festival, Syracuse Jazz Festival, CNY January Jazz Festival, and restaurants/clubs across New York State. He has performed at Disneyland®, The Hard Rock Hotel in NYC, The Great New York State Fair, and has opened for Grammy® Winners Lalah Hathaway, Randy Brecker, and Michael McDonald.
In 2016, Nicholas arrived at Manhattan School of Music, where he received his Bachelor's degree and studied with notable jazz trumpeters, Jon Faddis, Ingrid Jensen, and Scott Wendholt. During his time in college, he focused on developing his improvisational abilities and composition portfolio, writing for symphony orchestra, big band, and dozens of pieces for quartets and quintets.
In 2018, Nicholas was selected as one of four trumpeters in a nationwide search for the Disneyland® All-American College Band, where he had the opportunity to learn from and perform with Wayne Bergeron. The same year, he appeared in a national March-Madness® commercial with Tracy Morgan.
In 2021, Nicholas attained a residency at a major NYC restaurant run by celebrity chef, Franklin Becker (as seen on Iron Chef America, Top Chef Masters, The Today Show). Nicholas performed at Oliva Tapas with his trio every Thursday and Friday for 3 years. If you would like to see Nicholas’s shows live, check out his upcoming performances.
In the past few years, Nicholas has performed in NYC (at Cafe Wha, Luca’s Jazz Corner, Pisticci Italian Restaurant, Silvana Club), at Syracuse’s premier jazz venues (The Fitz, Jus Sum Jazz Lounge, and Gilded Club), and casinos in the Northeast (Turning Stone® Resort Casino and PARX casino in Philadelphia). In 2024, he recorded on James Zito’s album at Van Gelder Studios, where John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and many others famously recorded their catalogue. Nicholas has also played extensively with pop wedding bands, especially Silver Arrow Band, across upstate NY and NYC.
Nicholas is currently a faculty member at Larchmont Music Academy, where he teaches trumpet lessons and a jazz ensemble. For more updates on Nicholas, subscribe to the events newsletter below.
Outside of music…
My favorite movies are Inception, Revenge of the Sith, and Bandersnatch. (Truman Show and Memento are also incredible).
I visit NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art about once a month. I always explore the surrealist paintings, post-impressionist galleries, and 17th century Dutch masters.
I’m pretty sure that I could live on pizza. My go-to slice is Neapolitan pizza with peppers, onions, and pepperoni.
I truly love learning. I’m currently studying Ancient Egyptian history. One of the most fascinating subjects I’ve studied in the past is lucid dreaming. One summer I trained with methods of lucid dreaming until I could create environments and remember five vivid stories upon waking each morning.
Some of my favorite musicians to listen to are Roy Hargrove, Chris Potter, Stravinsky, Björk, Kendrick Lamar, Anomalie, Ravel.