B.M., Manhattan School of Music; M.M., Yale University, D.M.A., University of Michigan. Dr. Michael W. Nickens joined the George Mason University Department of Music faculty in August of 2006 as the director of the pep band. His background has been based in tuba performance, and he has been a member of Michigan’s renowned Creative Arts Orchestra as well as other musical ensembles that focus on improvisation such as his trio “t.l.a.o.o.” and "Everyone a Pope." He spends his summer on the jazz faculty of the Performing Arts Institute at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, PA.