Percussionist, educator, and performer, Jordan Nielsen is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri with a Master of Music in Performance and an Arts Entrepreneurship Certificate. At MU, he was a percussionist for the school’s New Music Ensemble -- the repertory ensemble of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. He holds a BM in Percussion Performance
from Southern Utah University and was recognized by the college faculty as the “Outstanding Graduate in Music.”

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In the Columbia, MO area, Jordan maintains an active teaching presence with the Hickman High School Marching Band’s front ensemble, which has achieved high ratings under his leadership, including recognition as “Best Percussion Section” in 2019. His private students have been awarded first-place prizes at the Mid-Missouri Day of Percussion and at state and district festivals. Since 2020, he has been the percussion coach for the Missouri Symphony Conservatory. He is a regular performer with the Missouri Symphony, the Odyssey Chamber Series, the Heartland Marimba Ensemble, and other groups in the area.

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Recent projects include runs of the opera Die Fledermaus and the musicals Little Shop
of Horrors, Fun Home, and 42nd Street. In 2019 he premiered and arranged the percussion ensemble arrangement of Robert Oetomo’s concerto for marimba, Soar. In competition, he has been awarded 1st place in the Chamber Music category (2015 Utah Day of Percussion), 1st place in the College Timpani Solo category (2017 UDP), 2nd place in the College Keyboard Solo Category (2019 UDP), and achieved a “Superior” rating in the Collegiate Marimba Category at the 2020 Mid-Missouri Percussive Arts Trophy and recogonized as an “Emerging Artist” at MU.