Peter Nichols

Peter Nichols joined The Cleveland Orchestra as Assistant Principal Timpani and Section Percussion in August 2025. Prior to his appointment, Nichols served as Principal Timpanist of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra from 2023 to 2025. He has performed frequently with the Cleveland, Detroit, National, West Virginia, and Maryland symphony orchestras, and has taken part in a range of collaborative projects, including the Grammy-nominated album Sila: The Breath of the World by John Luther Adams, recorded with The Crossing, JACK Quartet, and musicians from the University of Michigan.  

A native of Nitro, West Virginia, Nichols began studying percussion at the age of 11, inspired after hearing his older brother perform in his middle school drumline. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Marc Damoulakis and Paul Yancich, and a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, where his teachers included Thomas Sherwood and Jeremy Epp. In 2015, Nichols toured as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America. In 2016, he won first place in Division II of the Modern Snare Drum Competition.  

Outside the concert hall, Nichols enjoys hiking in national parks and spending time with his wife, Brittany, their son, Miles, and two cats, Ollie and Nitro.