Thomas Nicholson is a Berlin-based Canadian composer. His practice explores just intonation in music composition and performance, bridging rigorous theoretical research with intuitive musical experimentation.

He studied composition with Christopher Butterfield at the University of Victoria and Marc Sabat at the Universität der Künste Berlin. He and Sabat have collaborated on various academic and artistic research projects, publishing multiple articles that examine diverse approaches to understanding just intonation harmony. In 2020, they co-authored a significant revision and extension of the Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation (HEJI), originally developed by Sabat and Wolfgang von Schweinitz. HEJI has become a standard for notating just intonation across Europe.

His compositions are influenced by a broad range of interests, including mathematics, physics, psychoacoustics, music history, graphic design and philosophy. Collaboration holds a special place in his creative life. Since 2014, his compositions have engaged with the inherently microtonal qualities of just intonation. He especially enjoys composing for smaller settings consisting of two to four musicians. Beyond composing, he researches and develops tools and pedagogical materials that address both the conceptual and practical challenges of composing microtonal music as well as realising it with acoustic instruments.

He is a member of Harmonic Space Orchestra and Plainsound.

Compositions

Monotone-expansion • 2024
Co-composed with Rebecca Lane & Sam Dunscombe in response to Yves Klein’s Symphonie Monoton-Silence, open instrumentation with pre-recorded playback, open duration

Free and easy wandering • 2024
SuperCollider, 23’

Night falls light fall • 2024
Co-composed with Marc Sabat
Cello & live electronic processing in SuperCollider, open duration

Doppelzelt • 2023
Co-composed with Rebecca Lane
Quarter-tone bass flute, viola & electronic tones generated in SuperCollider, 30’
Audio (excerpt)

Minimal surface • 2023
Voice, quarter-tone bass/alto flutes, trombone, violin, viola, cello & contrabass, 15’
Audio (excerpt)

Time falling • 2023
Quarter-tone bass flute & contrabass, 30

Old town • 2023
Short film with electronic music created in SuperCollider, 18
Film

Rassla • 2023
Harmonic progression for SuperCollider, optionally with acoustic instruments and/or voices, 17
Audio

Sieve of Eratosthenes • 2023
Two pianos in 67-limit just intonation, 4’
Audio

Nocturne • 2022
Flute, bass flute, alto saxophone, bass trombone, accordion (12-EDO), electric guitar (84-EDO), harp (84-EDO), violin & cello, 18’
Audio

Harmonium glistening • 2021
At least six instruments and/or voices, possibly with electronic accompaniment in SuperCollider, 18’
Audio

Triple resplendence • 2021
Quarter-tone alto flute, viola & trombone, 7’
Audio

Chanter • 2021
Solo cello, 15’

Per • 2018–20
Orchestra of 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, bass drum, timpani, harp & strings, 12’
Audio

Fields flowering • 2020
Violin, viola & cello, 8’

Wenn • 2020
High voice or alto flute, violin, clarinet in A & bass clarinet, 8’

Rondo for Marcus Pal • 2020
SuperCollider, 27’
Audio

98 Chords for Catherine Lamb • 2020
Horn, viola & suspended cymbal, 10’
Audio

Bercer • 2019
Solo cello, 11’
Audio

Atlas 2012 • 2015/2019
First version, 2015: alto saxophone & electric guitar with ebow, 14’
Second version in just intonation, 2019: viola & acoustic guitar with ebow, 14’
Audio

Cone • 2019
SuperCollider, 12’
Audio

Anstatt • 2019
Clarinet, violin, cello & accordion in 12-EDO, 10’

Just / Chords Melodies • 2019
Piano in Sabat II well temperament, 13’
Audio

Still • 2018
Violin & viola, 6’
Audio

Endless wander • 2018
Bass flute, violin, viola & cello, 9’

Schwer Abschied nehmen wenn ich Taschentuch sehe • 2018
Collaboration with Luisa Rüster, Jingjing Du, Maria Färber & Lisa-Johanna Schindlbeck
Three dancers, light & object installation, violin, keyboard & SuperCollider, 45’
Video (excerpts)

Gram • 2018
Baroque alto flute, viola, keyboard & video installation, 15’
Audio

Branch / Plainsound Trio • 2018
Any three sustaining instruments and/or voices, 8’
Audio

Servicemaster • 2017
Collaboration with Kim-Ferris Manning
Site-specific installation, sculpture & film, 55’
Film

Motte • 2017
Flute (doubling piccolo), alto saxophone (doubling contrabass clarinet), bassoon (doubling contrabassoon), horn, tubular bells, piano in 13-limit just intonation, violin & viola, 40’

That / Which • 2016
Orchestra of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, tubular bells & strings, 5’

About • 2016
Orchestra of 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, percussion (3 players), harp, organ & strings, 17’
Audio

Writing

Surprising connections in extended just intonation • 2021
Masters thesis, Universität der Künste Berlin
This essay documents some initial speculations regarding how harmonies (might) evolve in extended just intonation, connecting back to various practices from two perspectives that have been influential to my work. The first perspective, which is the primary investigation, concerns itself with an intervallic conception of just intonation, centring around Harry Partch’s technique of Otonalities and Utonalities interacting through Tonality Flux: close contrapuntal proximities bridging microtonal chordal structures. An analysis of Partch’s 1943 composition Dark Brother, one of his earliest compositions to use this technique extensively, is proposed, contextualised within his 43-tone Monophonic system and greater aesthetic interests. This is followed by further approaches to just intonation composition from the perspective of the extended harmonic series and spectral interaction in acoustic sounds. Recent works and practices from composers La Monte Young, Éliane Radigue, Ellen Fullman, and Catherine Lamb are considered, with a focus on the shifting modalities and neighbouring partials in Lamb’s string quartet Divisio Spiralis (2019). Finally, I connect this discussion to my current compositional interests, which have been exploring a method of microtonal modulation through arbitrarily near enharmonic connections in Harmonic Space called “enharmonic proximities.”
PDF

A Compact Enharmonically Viable Subset of Harmonic Space • 2020
Co-authored with Marc Sabat • Published in Živá hudba, issue 11
While temperament may present some apparent advantages, it necessarily sacrifices the distinct “JI fusion sonority” of intervals that are precisely tuneable by ear. These manifest a vast gradation of consonance and dissonance, as yet largely unexplored and with fascinating potential for new compositions. This article proposes a novel approach, based on a mathematical structure called the Stern-Brocot Tree, allowing a finite set of pitches to be generated in just intonation within which music may modulate freely without relying on temperament.
PDF

The Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation • 2020
Co-authored with Marc Sabat • Published by Plainsound
Revised notation symbols for primes up to 47, including a detailed legend and examples from the harmonic and subharmonic series.
PDF

Farey sequences map playable nodes on a string • 2019
Co-authored with Marc Sabat • Published in Tempo 74, issue 291
Natural harmonics, i.e. partials and their harmonic series, may be isolated on a vibrating string by lightly touching specific points along its length. In addition to the two endpoints, stationary nodes for a given partial n present themselves at n–1 locations along the string, dividing it into n parts of equal length. It is not the case, however, that touching any one of these nodes will necessarily isolate the nth partial and its integer multiples. The subset of nodes that will activate the nth partial (termed playable nodes by the authors) may be derived by following a mathematically predictable pattern described by so-called Farey sequences. The authors derive properties of these sequences and connect them to physical phenomena. This article describes various musical applications: locating single natural harmonics, forming melodies of neighbouring harmonics, sounding multiphonic aggregates, as well as predicting the relative tuneability of just intervals.
PDF

Microtonal playback in Dorico 2018
Published on Scoring Notes
A software review of microtonal just intonation playback capabilities in Dorico 2, with technical examples.
Article

Fundamental Principles of Just Intonation and Microtonal Composition • 2018
Co-authored with Marc Sabat • Published by Plainsound
An introduction to concepts underlying just intonation and other microtonal tuning systems, adopted for the tuning seminar at Universität der Künste Berlin.
PDF

Other Projects

Plainsound Text • 2025
A somewhat condensed, Univers-inspired sans serif typeface with integrated Helmholtz-Ellis Just Intonation (HEJI) accidentals.
Repository

Harmonic Series Spiral Synth • 2021
An online synthesiser and interactive visualisation of the harmonic series in the form of a logarithmic spiral. This model is based on Erv Wilson’s 1965 publication as well as Catherine Lamb’s related creative and pedagogical practice. Only works on desktop!
Web app

Plainsound Harmonic Space Calculator • 2020
A tool to support analysis, composition, and performance preparation of music composed in just intonation.
Web app

Calendar

Oct 18, 2025 • Festival MIXTUR (L’Auditori, Barcelona)
Jun 24—25, 2025 • Workshops with Ensembles Contrechamps & Dedalus
Jun 18, 2025 • Prime Time № 8 (KM28, Berlin)
May 31, 2025 • VANG VII (Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid)
May 11, 2025 • Landen und Ankommen (Haus am Land, Solothurn)
Mar 29, 2025 • Prime Time № 7 (KM28, Berlin)

Dec 5, 2024 • Sacred Realism Festival (KM28, Berlin)
Nov 24, 2024 • hcmf//2024 (Town Hall, Huddersfield)
Nov 15, 2024 • Harmonic Space Orchestra (KM28, Berlin)
Oct 17, 2024 • Get Lost Vol. 2 (Markthalle Moabit, Berlin)
Oct 10, 2024 • Prime Time № 6 (KM28, Berlin)
Jan 29—Feb 3, 2024 • Semaine du Son (GMEA, Albi)
Jan 15, 2024 • Doppelzelt (Keith Bar, Berlin)

Dec 6, 2023 • Festival AFEKT (Emmaus-Kirche, Berlin)
Nov 11, 2023 • Mikroskop IV (A4, Bratislava)
Nov 10, 2023 • Endless Wander (Malý Berlín, Trnava)
Nov 4, 2023 • JI workshop (Tulkinnanvaraista, Helsinki)
Nov 3, 2023 • Doppelzelt (Tulkinnanvaraista, Helsinki)
Nov 1, 2023 • Himera Festival (Contemporary Art Space Kutomo, Turku)
Oct 31, 2023 • Äänen Lumo (BioArt Society, Helsinki)
Oct 30, 2023 • Festival AFEKT (St. Michael’s Church, Tallinn)
Oct 28, 2023 • Prime Time № 4 (KM28, Berlin)
Oct 14, 2023 • Time falling (Lindenkirche, Berlin)
Oct 9—11, 2023 • Ensemble Contrechamps (Abbatiale Bellelay)
Jun 27—29, 2023 • L’infini du son (GMEA, Abbaye de Sylvanès)
Jun 15, 2023 • M.O. Abbott portrait concert (KM28, Berlin)
May 31, 2023 • Prime Time № 3 (KM28, Berlin)
May 31, 2023 • New Dawn 3 (Nová Cvernovka, Bratislava)
Apr 16, 2023 • Spiral Sunday № 4 (Petersburg Art Space, Berlin)
Mar 31, 2023 • Prime Time № 2 (KM28, Berlin)
Mar 19, 2023 • Edition Festival (Confidencen, Stockholm)
Jan 31, 2023 • Prime Time № 1 (KM28, Berlin)

Aug 1—6, 2022 • Expériences (GMEA, Albi)
Jan 28, 2022 • The Art of the String Multiphonic (Musik Akademie Basel)
Jan 7—8, 2022 • SALT New Music Festival (University of Victoria)

Nov 18, 2021 • reiheM (Basement, Cologne)
Oct 3, 2021 • Festival riverrun (Théâtre des Lices, Albi)
Jun 26, 2021 • Harmony, Emptiness, Space (Konzerthaus, Berlin)

Dec 4, 2020 • MEHRLICHT!MUSIK Festival (Universität der Künste, Berlin)
Oct 16—24, 2020 • Harmonic Space 2020: James Tenney (KINDL & KM28, Berlin)
Feb 28—Mar 1, 2020 • Beyond Microtonal Music Festival (University of Pittsburgh)

Aug 30, 2019 • Kalman, Rasten, Nicholson (KM28, Berlin)
May 15, 2019 • Plainsound Orchestra (KM28, Berlin)
Feb 15, 2019 • Solo piano recital (KM28, Berlin)
Jan 6—9, 2019 • Chords, Melodies Festival (KM28, Berlin)

Nov 25, 2018 • MEHRLICHT!MUSIK Festival (Universität der Künste, Berlin)
Oct 16, 2018 • DAAD Prize ceremony (Universität der Künste, Berlin)
Sep 23, 2018 • Schwer Abschied nehmen wenn ich Taschentuch sehe (Urbanraum, Berlin)

Sep 5—7, 2017 • Servicemaster (Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria)

Feb 15, 2015 • Cage: Sonatas and Interludes (University of Victoria)

Contact

Email: thomasnicholson at superparticular dot com

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