About

Nick Olynciw.

Pianist, vocalist, and bandleader based in Chicago.

Andy's Jazz Club Chicago
Short bio

Nick Olynciw is a Chicago-based pianist, vocalist, and bandleader. A graduate of the University of North Texas and Western Michigan University, he is a First Prize winner of the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, a Bösendorfer Award recipient, and a two-time DownBeat Award winner.

Full biography

Nick Olynciw is a pianist, vocalist, and bandleader based in Chicago. He performs regularly at Andy's Jazz Club, the Coq d'Or at the Drake Hotel, and venues across the Midwest.

He studied jazz piano at the University of North Texas (B.M. Jazz Studies, 2016) and Western Michigan University (M.M. Performance, 2019). His teachers include Matthew Fries, Brenda Earle-Stokes, Pat Coil, and Dan Haerle.

Honors include First Prize at the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition (2018), the Bösendorfer Award at the American Jazz Pianist Competition (2018), two DownBeat Student Music Awards (Outstanding Vocal Solo, 2016; Best Graduate Jazz Instrumental Soloist, 2019), and Alternate status with the American Pianists Association (2022). He held a Gilmore Keyboard Festival scholarship in 2017–18.

He works as a leader, accompanist, and sideman. His vocal work is grounded in Somatic Voicework™ — The LoVetri Method (Levels I, II, III).

He teaches at the Chicago Academy for the Arts (Voice & Piano; co-leader, Vocal Jazz Ensemble) and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic (Jazz Piano). His first album as a leader is scheduled for 2027.

Selected

Honors and training.

Awards & honors
  • 2022American Pianists Association — Alternate
  • 2019DownBeat Award — Best Graduate Jazz Instrumental Soloist
  • 2018Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition — First Prize
  • 2018Bösendorfer Award — American Jazz Pianist Competition
  • 2017Gilmore Keyboard Festival — Scholar selection
  • 2016DownBeat Award — Outstanding Vocal Solo
Education
  • 2019M.M. Performance — Western Michigan University
  • 2016B.M. Jazz Studies — University of North Texas
Faculty
  • Chicago Academy for the ArtsVoice & Piano · Vocal Jazz Ensemble co-leader · since 2023
  • Chicago Jazz PhilharmonicJazz Piano · since 2023
Voice training
  • Somatic Voicework™ — The LoVetri MethodLevels I, II & III certified
Booking and press: nicholas.olynciw@gmail.com
Email