Nicholas Enz

Nicholas Enz serves as the Director of Bands at St. Ambrose University, where he conducts the Symphonic Band and the Jazz Ensemble and teaches courses in music, music education, and music technology. He also leads the American Prize-winning Quad City Wind Ensemble. Before joining the faculty at St. Ambrose University, he served as the Director of Bands at Michigan Technological University and taught in the Copper Country Intermediate School District. 

Throughout his career, Enz has earned distinctions teaching at the college and high school levels. His high school jazz program received numerous awards and recognitions, including "Outstanding Jazz Ensemble" at the Northern Michigan University Jazz Festival and second place at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Jazz Festival. The program also received eight grants from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Michigan Tech Superior Wind Symphony embarked on six performance tours and was honored as an ensemble-in-residence at the Historic Ironwood Theatre. The 250-member Michigan Tech Huskies Pep Band was selected four times by the WCHA as the host band for the WCHA/NCAA Final Five Hockey Tournament. Enz received the 2016-17 St. Ambrose Faculty of the Year Award.

Under Enz's leadership, the St. Ambrose Symphonic Band has traveled internationally to perform in Ireland and Greece. Notably, the band was invited by the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Palaio Faliro (a municipality of Athens) to perform as part of a music and culture exchange between the United States and Greece on Greece's Memorial Day. Additionally, they were invited to be the first band from the United States to perform with the Royal Irish Academy of Music Band on their season finale concert in Dublin, Ireland.

Dr. Enz served on the K-12 Music Curriculum and Standards Review Committee for the State of Michigan. He currently serves as the chair of the Iowa Bandmasters College Affairs Committee. His research has been published in UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education and presented at conferences throughout the United States and internationally at the Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik Conference (International Society for Research and Promotion of Wind Music) in Wadgassen, Germany with a forthcoming presentation in Valencia, Spain in Summer of 2024. He co-authored a chapter on programming for CBDNA's Guidebook for the Small College Band Program. Additionally, he served as an assistant producer for The Ohio State University Wind Symphony's NAXOS recording, Network.

An active guest conductor and clinician, Enz has made appearances throughout the Midwest and Great Lakes region, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee, Kansas, and Ohio. As a saxophonist, he has performed with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and the Pine Mountain Music Festival Symphony Orchestra. Enz was also a featured soloist with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra.

Outside of music, Enz enjoys photography and as a college student won multiple Kansas Associated Collegiate Press awards for his photos and photo essays.

Enz, N. J. (2018). An Examination of Band Works Nominated for the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and Factors Influencing the Likelihood a Band Work Will Win the Grawemeyer Award. Presented at the Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik Conference in Wadgassen, Germany.

2018 River Valley Conference High School Honor Band. Conductor. Iowa City, IA.

2018 Gogebic Range High School Honor Band. Conductor. Ironwood, MI.

2018 Lincoln Trail Conference High School Honor Band. Conductor. Woodhull, IL.

Enz, N. J. (2017). Score Marking to Increase Rehearsal Efficiency. Presented at the Iowa Music Educators Conference, Ames, IA.

Enz, N. J. (2017). Are You Encouraging or Discouraging Artistry with Your Instructions? The Iowa Bandmasters Magazine, 76(2), 26-27.

Cooney, M., Enz, N., and Kelley, S. (2017). Starting from Scratch: A Look Into Building the Small College Marching Band. Presented at the CBDNA Athletic Band Symposium in Amherst, MA.

2017 Southeast Iowa Bandmasters Association Honor Band. Conductor. Iowa City, IA.

2016 Prairelands Middle School Honor Band. Conductor. Taylor Ridge, IL

2016 Southeast Iowa Super Conference High School Honor Band. Conductor. Wayland, IA.

Enz, N. J., & Runge, J. (2015). Addressing Common Occupational Ailments of a Music Teacher. Presented at the Iowa Music Educators Conference, Ames, IA.

Enz, N. J. (2015). Conducting 301: Moving Beyond the Fundamentals. Presented at the Iowa Music Educators Conference, Ames, IA.

Enz, N. J. (2013). Teaching Music to the Non-Major: A Review of the Literature. UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education, 32(1), 34-42. http://doi.org/10.1177/8755123313502344

Enz, N. J. (2011, January). Making it Stick!: A Thematic Unit Approach to Rehearsals. Presented at the Michigan Music Conference, Grand Rapids, MI.

Bodnar, E., & Cooney, M., Enz, N. J. (2022). Choosing Effective, Appropriate Repertoire (Programming). In C. Peltz & J. Latten (Eds.), CBDNA Guidebook for the Small Collegiate Band Program (pp. 31-50). College Band Directors National Association.

Enz, N. J., & Linscheid, J. (2022). A Jazz Band Primer for Directors with Limited Jazz Experience. Presented at the Illinois Music Educators Association, Peoria, IL.

Enz, N., Asay, R., Widstrand, A., Lynch, E., & Smith, R. (2020). Lies My Band Director Told Me: Woodwind Edition. Presented at the Iowa Bandmasters Conference, Des Moines, IA (Virtual Conference due to Covid-19).

Enz, N. J. (2018). An Examination of Band Works Nominated for the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition and Factors Influencing the Likelihood a Band Work Will Win the Grawemeyer Award. Presented at the Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik Conference in Wadgassen, Germany.

Enz, N. J. (2017). Score Marking to Increase Rehearsal Efficiency. Presented at the Iowa Music Educators Conference, Ames, IA.

Enz, N. J. (2017). Are You Encouraging or Discouraging Artistry with Your Instructions? The Iowa Bandmasters Magazine, 76(2), 26-27.

Cooney, M., Enz, N., and Kelley, S. (2017). Starting from Scratch: A Look Into Building the Small College Marching Band. Presented at the CBDNA Athletic Band Symposium in Amherst, MA.

Enz, N. J., & Runge, J. (2015). Addressing Common Occupational Ailments of a Music Teacher. Presented at the Iowa Music Educators Conference, Ames, IA.

Enz, N. J. (2015). Conducting 301: Moving Beyond the Fundamentals. Presented at the Iowa Music Educators Conference, Ames, IA.

Enz, N. J. (2013). Teaching Music to the Non-Major: A Review of the Literature. UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education, 32(1), 34-42.

Enz, N. J. (2011, January). Making it Stick!: A Thematic Unit Approach to Rehearsals. Presented at the Michigan Music Conference, Grand Rapids, MI.