Nicholas Bonaccio is a percussionist based in Madison, WI. In 2015, at age 23, he joined the percussion section of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, appointed by Music Director John DeMain. Additionally, he has performed with the Symphony Orchestras of Milwaukee, Hawaii, Rockford (IL), Dubuque (IA), and the Quad Cities (IA); as well as the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Clocks in Motion percussion quartet, and touring Broadway productions, most recently including Anastasia, Mean Girls, and Wicked.
Since 2017, Nicholas has served as Music Director of Madison Area Concert Handbells – Madison’s premier auditioned community handbell choir, dedicated to advancing the art of ringing through performing new and innovative works for handbells. He is also the Director of Handbells at Bethany United Methodist Church in Madison.
Also passionate about vintage percussion instrument restoration, Nicholas apprenticed at two of the most well-known names in the industry, Fall Creek Marimbas and Century Mallet Instrument Service, where he helped bring antique mallet instruments from a state of disrepair to concert-hall quality for clients worldwide.
A Vermont native, Nicholas is an alumnus of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and has studied at the DePaul University School of Music in Chicago, IL. His principal teachers have included Marc Damoulakis, Eric Millstein, David Herbert, Michael Burritt, Charles Ross, and Jeremy Levine.