Dr. Nikk Pilato serves as Director of Bands at Northern Kentucky University, where he conducts the NKU wind ensembles, supervises student teachers, and teaches various courses in the Music Education curriculum, contributing to the University’s mission through research, service, and scholarly and creative endeavours.

​He maintains an active profile as a guest conductor, clinician, lecturer, adjudicator, music arranger, and drill designer.

​Nikk is the founder and executive director of the Wind Repertory Project, an online wiki/database of wind literature. The database includes detailed information on thousands of works for wind band, such as errata, articles, instrumentation, program notes, study resources, and more. In the 16 years since its inception, the WRP has amassed over 25,000 entries, and has been visited over forty million times.

Believing that students of all backgrounds should see themselves reflected in the music they perform, Nikk is dedicated to diversifying the performance repertoire of the modern wind ensemble. He has led and participated in multiple consortiums to commission new music, and serves the profession by participating on various committees, including the CBDNA New Works committee and the Frederick Fennell Prize committee.

​Nikk earned the Bachelor of Music Education, the Master of Music Education, and a Ph.D. in Conducting and Music Education from the Florida State University College of Music in Tallahassee, Florida, where his primary teachers were Richard Clary, James Croft, Patrick Dunnigan, and Clifford Madsen. 

​In his free time, Nikk enjoys reading, cooking, poker, and exploring the Cincinnati metro area with his partner Amanda.

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