ECU professor honored with prestigious ASCAP award

ADA – East Central University music professor Dr. Nicholaus Meyers has been awarded the prestigious ASCAP Plus Award to honor his compositional works.

Meyers was honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers for his entire body of published compositions, which numbers near 60. ASCAP members who received less than $25,000 in domestic performance royalties in the previous calendar year are eligible for the award, which focuses on members who compose children’s music, concert music, jazz and musical theatre with a value far beyond the scope of performance surveys.

“It feels great to be recognized,” Meyers said. “Here is an important group of professionals that acknowledged my work, and at this point in my life and career that is very rewarding.”

For the past 20 years, Meyers has composed music primarily for high school, college and church performances – intricate compositions intended for smaller venues. All of his works are 100 percent original, and

not arrangements of other artists’ works.

“The ASCAP Plus Award is meaningful because it is a recognition of my entire catalog as having merit,” Meyers said. “Music plays a role in every part of my life. My wife is a music teacher as well. Teaching it, writing it, playing it – it all brings so much joy.”

Meyers directs ECU’s Pride of Tigerland marching band, wind ensemble, concert band and percussion ensemble. He teaches applied percussion and conducting, among other courses. He also directs the popular event known as “Tigerpalooza,” a competition that brings high school marching bands from across the state to the ECU campus each year.

Before coming to ECU, Meyers taught at North Dakota State University, Valley City State University, Augusta State University, Troy University and Augusta Technical College. A native of Georgia, he points to his time with the Oslo Philharmonic in Norway as particularly inspirational and even crafts his own line of percussion instruments.