Composer, violinist, and computer music researcher Charles Nichols (www.charlesnichols.com) explores the expressive potential of instrumental ensembles, computer music systems, and combinations of the two, for the concert stage, and collaborations with dance, video, and installation art. He teaches Composition and Creative Technologies at Virginia Tech, is a Faculty Fellow of the Institute for Creativity Arts and Technology, and previously taught at the University of Montana. He has earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music, Yale University, and Stanford University, where he studied composition with Samuel Adler, Martin Bresnick, Jacob Druckman, and Jonathan Harvey, and computer music with Jonathan Berger, Chris Chafe, Max Mathews, and Jean-Claude Risset. He has conducted research as a visiting scholar at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast, taught computer music workshops at the University of Rome, Banff Centre, Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University, and Charlotte New Music Festival, and composed as a resident at the Ucross and Brush Creek artist retreats. His recent premieres include What Bends, for electric violin and interactive computer music in 3D immersive audio, accompanying narrated poetry, motion capture dance, animation, and processed video in 360º projection, Epimetheus Gift, for amplified bassoon and computer in 3D immersive audio, inspired by the Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah, Beyond the Dark, ambient synthesized sound for installation art and 3D projection, and Nicolo, Jimi, and John, a three movement concerto, for amplified viola, orchestra, and computer, celebrating the virtuosity of Paganini, Hendrix, and Coltrane (www.youtube.com/user/CharlesSNicholsII). In the band Modality (https://modality.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-shadow-of-this-red-rock), he performs electric violin, bass guitar, and computer.