The internationally acclaimed performer, teacher, clinician and adjudicator Dutch born Hans Nickel has recently retired from his position as solo tuba with the German WDR Symphony Orchestra, a position which he held from 1986 and commented on by the press as 'a legend retires'.. 

Nickel teaches at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, is a Professor at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf (incorporating the low brass of the Ausbildungsmusikkorps der Bundeswehr)  He also teaches at the pre-university programme of the Bundeswehr. 

He is a Senior Lecturer for Tuba and Euphonium at the Hoogeschool Zuyd (Conservatoire)in Maastricht (Netherlands). 

Hans Nickel is particularly popular with ERASMUS students from Europe, and with students from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and always has a very international class. He himself has visited both Zaragoza, Lyon, Valencia and Madrid in Erasmus exchanges. Many of his former students are now holding positions in orchestras worldwide including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Radio Orchestra Athens, Opera Maserille, the Seoul Symphony Orchestra and Xi'an Symphony Orchestra. Others have become teachers themselves and teach at renowned institutes and several are now established conductors.

Brass Bands were a long-time hobby for Nickel and he was a member of the Dutch Championship Brass Band Limburg for several years, winning a host of soloist prizes with them, including the European Soloist of the Year in both Rotterdam and Cardiff.

Hans Nickel frequently gives Master Classes and show-case recitals around the world, including Japan (University of Fine Arts, Tokio), Korea(Seoul), China and Russia. Nearer home he has been a regular guest in Italy(Montepulciano), France (Paris, Surgeres and Avignon)and other European cities. In the autumn of 2017 he gave his first Master Class in Amsterdam on the invitation of his former student and now solo-tuba in the Concertgebouw, Perry Hoogendijk. In a similar relationship he returned to Seoul in May 2018 to hold a Master Class together with a former student, and returned to China in August 2018 for the third time in 10 months for a week of Master Classes and to give a recital at the 1st Wuhan International Tuba Euphonium Summer Camp. In 2019 he gave a Master Class and recital at the Tianjin Jinbao Musical Instruments Festival. This year he will again go to Wuhan for the 2025 Wuhan Low Brass Festival.

Hans Nickel performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician, particularly active in the field of contemporary music having premiered many new works for tuba including: Jan Van der Roost (Obsessions and canTUBAllada, Riva del Garda, Italy, 1997 ITEC), Karlheinz Stockhausen (In Freundschaft 1996), Jan Bedrich (Dialogy per Tuba, Piano e Baterie) and Edward Gregson (USA prmiere Alarum, Chicago 1995 ITEC), Hamers (Chameleon, Cardiff), Harrap (Klee-Blatt, Klee Ausstellung, Kunstsammlung NRW and Sonate für Tuba, Harfe und Schlagzeug, WDR Funkhaus Cologne) and Adler-McKean (Engführung,WDR Funkhaus Cologne). As a chamber musician he has appeared all over the world, including performing at the Huddersfield Contemporary Festival, Holland Festival, Landgraaf Poezie Festival and the Wittener Tagen für Neue Kammermusik, with groups as highly regarded as  Belgian Brass Soloists, Ensemble Modern(Frankfurt), Asko Ensemble (Amsterdam), Music Fabrik (Cologne), HR Brass (HR Frankfurt),the Blechbläserensemble der Berliner Philharmoniker (Berlin) and many others.

In the autumn of 2008 he formed together with colleagues from WDR the brass quintet 'Brass Consort Köln' with whom he created an educational project for schools which was then adopted by the WDR. Extremely popular within the 'Maus' series the BCK have recently created a YouTube video 'First Aid with the Mouse' which encourages young people to learn live saving first aid.

He has performed the Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto together with the WDR Sinfonieorchester, the Slowak Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Noord Hollands Philharmonisches Orkest, the Staatsorchester Braunschweig and the Philharmonischen Orchester Hagen. In 2014 he performed the John Williams Konzert für Tuba und Orchester together with the WDR Sinfonie Orchester in the Kölner Philharmonie. In 2024 he gave the German premiere of Reflections on the Mississippi for Tuba and Orchestra by Michael Daugherty in a live stream performance with the WDR Symphony Orchestra.
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Nickel has a multitude of recordings to his name encompassing the R.Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto with both the WDR Symphony Orchestra and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (canTUBAllada), Tuba Obsessions (Tuba Solo), Orchester Finalisten (Asko Ensemble), Nessun Dorma (Belgian Brass Soloists), Jazzpana- Grammy winner- (Vince Mendoza and the WDR Big Band), aus dem leopardizyklus(Ospald) and new in 2018 was a Bernstein CD together with Wayne Marshall. canTUBAllada was titled 'essential listening' by the London Sunday Times. Visitors to the German cinema film "Der Führer" will recognize the unique sound of Hans Nickel on the film sound track.

During the corona pandemic Nickel turned more to social media and easy-listening music. Thus the Hans Nickel plays... series was created by WDR for their YouTube channel with popular classics re-arranged for tuba and chamber orchestra. The first four recordings in this series reached over one million people earning him the comment 'The tuba becomes a digital star...'

In 2025 alongside his usual work obligations, Nickel will be appearing as an invited guest at the ThaiTEC, LizBrass'25(Leiria Brass Festival), 2025 Wuhan Low Brass Festival and others, guesting with many symphony orchestras including the Brussels Philharmonic, NDR Hamburg, Wupper Symphony Orchestra and his 'own' WDR, and be appearing as a soloist with various Dutch Groups up and down the Netherlands.

In other words 'retirement' has merely meant a slight change in direction...