Biography

The music of NYC-based composer and sound artist Nicholas Tran is described as “showy as peacocks” (The Strad) and “well worth the wait” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). Coming from a family of refugees, their music explores themes of emergence, grit, survivorship, transience, and examines (re)claiming the unstable and celebrating the queer. Tran’s compositions are collaborations between the performer, their instrument, and the impact that an outsider—a composer—might have on such an intimate relationship.

Tran has been commissioned by National Sawdust, Boston Musica Viva, and individual performers. They have worked with the JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, TACETi Ensemble, and Talea Ensemble. Tran is a Ph.D candidate in composition at the CUNY Graduate Center where they have studied with Suzanne Farrin and Jason Eckardt. Tran was awarded the 2025 Excellence in Teaching Award, a 2026-27 Graduate Center Dissertation Fellowship, and a GC Teaching Fellowship. Tran is currently teaching at Lehman College.