Dr. Nicholaus Cummins

Dr. Nicholaus B. Cummins is the Director of Choral Studies at Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, where he conducts the Mississippi State University Singers and OPUS (TTBB ensemble) and teaches conducting and vocal music education methods.  He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Mississippi, a Master of Arts from the University of Alabama, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University.

Before joining the faculty at Mississippi State University, Dr. Cummins served as Director of Choral Studies at Northwestern State University. Under his direction, the Northwestern Chamber Choir achieved notable recognition, including performances at the 2024 Southern Region ACDA Conference and the 9th National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conference at the University of Maryland. The choir also earned distinctions such as Summa Cum Laude at the Laurea Mundi Choral Competition in Budapest, Hungary, 2nd place in the Ave Verum Competition in Baden, Austria, and 2nd place in the Leonardo da Vinci Choral Competition in Florence, Italy. Dr. Cummins has collaborated on two album recordings with composers Michael Trotta (ECS Publishing) and Richard Burchard (Centaur Records) and has commissioned new choral works from composers Vytautas Miškinis and John August Pamintuan.

Dr. Cummins is actively involved in presenting at regional and state conferences throughout the US. He has also served on the regional Southern ACDA board as Collegiate Chair and continues to serve on the board of the National Collegiate Choral Organization. He was previously honored as an ACDA International Conducting Fellow in Brazil and will be conducting the 2025 South Carolina TTBB All-State Choir.

He is a member of several professional and honor organizations including the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association for Teachers of Singing, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, the College Music Society, the National Association for Music Education, Pi Kappa Lambda, and the International Choral Music Federation.