He began his doctoral studies with Susan Williams at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague and received the Master’s degree in 2010. Nicholas became fascinated with the cornetto and took lessons with Marleen Leicher (Antwerp) and Gebhard David (Hochschule für Kunst Bremen) starting in 2012.

During his studies, Nicholas won auditions for a number of academies, most notably in William Christie’s production of Purcell’s “Fairy Queen” at the Académie Européenne de Musique d’Aix-en-Provence. He has also taken lessons and master classes with Ute Hartwich and Jean-François Madeuf on trumpet, as well as on cornetto with Bork-Frithjof Smith, Jean Tubéry and William Dongois. Nicholas performs regularly as a member or as a guest with various ensembles, including Symphonie Atlantique, Clarini Trumpet Ensemble, Musica Amphion, Die Kölner Akademie, Il Gardellino, the Dutch Bach Association, Vox Luminis and Bach Collegium Japan. He is also one of the founders of the chamber ensemble Parnassus Collective and alongside Andrew Hallock, he is also co-musical director of the historic brass ensemble Copper & Zinc.