Nicholas Patrick Quigley

Nicholas Patrick Quigley (he/they) is an educator, creative musician, and expressive arts practitioner. As a music teacher at Durfee High School of Fall River, MA, Quigley guides students through creative processes from exploring their identities and cultures, generating and developing original musical ideas, and producing finished recordings in digital audio workstations. Quigley’s critical approach to curriculum and instruction is constructivist, inclusive, and trauma-informed, integrating multilateral standards for music learning within broader studies of the world and the self through musicking.

Prior to joining the Durfee Fine and Performing Arts faculty full-time, Quigley taught at Fall River’s alternative middle and high school, where they formed a contemporary band and music technology program. Their prior service in Fall River included creating a middle school guitar/ukulele program and a general music video series for elementary students during pandemic-induced remote learning phases. They also served on the district’s Diversity and Equity Committee and currently serve as a member of the Fall River Educators Association Executive Board. As a teacher in Randolph Public Schools, Quigley established a trauma-responsive musicking group for elementary students with higher emotional and behavioral learning supports and represented specialist teachers on the Contract Negotiations Committee. They recently completed their service as a co-coordinator of the Play On! music festival, providing public K–12 students in alternative music education formats a platform to share their music free of fees and auditions. Quigley engaged professional guest artists for the festival, and established transportation grants to eliminate the final access barrier for schools with greater budgetary constraints.

As a composer and producer, Quigley has released nine albums of original music. Their minimalist classical and electronic works have centered on themes of climate change, neurodiversity, and the worlds of dreams. Inspired by integrative and avant-garde approaches, Quigley has studied in creative workshops with Brian Eno, Laraaji, Meredith Monk, and the Center for Deep Listening at Rensselaer. With an interest in composing to develop ecological consciousness, Quigley has earned a certificate in Ecopsychology from the Pacifica Graduate Institute.

Quigley has presented at research- and practice-oriented conferences, and published in the Journal of Popular Music Education, Impact: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning, and Teaching Music, among others. Through their studies, they have explored the educational backgrounds of DIY musicians, applied eco-literate pedagogy in praxis, and integrated social-emotional learning-focused expressive arts and general music curricula. They are a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Lowell (BM, cum laude, Music Business), Boston University (MM, Music Education, Pi Kappa Lambda), and Salve Regina University (CAGS, Professional Applications of the Expressive and Creative Arts). On seasonal bases, Quigley serves as a course facilitator within Boston University's Music Education department, and as an alumnus assistant in Salve Regina University's Expressive Arts graduate program.