Nicky Manlove (they/them) is the founding artistic director of THEM Youth Ensemble, an LGBTQ+ and allied youth chorus, and is the director of music at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Tucson, AZ. In their work with THEM Youth Ensemble, Nicky organized the inaugural THEMposium, an annual performing arts festival for LGBTQ+ youth, and co-produced “ROSES: The Past, Present, and Future of Trans Resilience,” a collaborative virtual concert in observance of Trans Day of Resilience 2020.

Nicky is a committed advocate of equity-centered and liberatory choral practice, and supports a number of justice-focused choral initiatives nationally. They are on the leadership team of The Choral Commons, a media platform that provides a space for singing communities to realize the liberatory potential of the ensemble as a site of radical imagining. They also serve on ACDA Western Division’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce, on the ACDA National Diversity Initiative Committee’s Task Force on Guidance and Resources for the Care of Transgender Singers, and are the Chair of Student Repertoire and Resources for the Arizona ACDA chapter.

Nicky holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts, emphasis in Music from Seattle University, and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona, where they studied with Alyssa Cossey and Elizabeth Schauer and served as Assistant Conductor for the University Community Chorus.