Nicholas Bardonnay is a photographer, multimedia artist, and the Creative Director & CEO of Westwater Arts. 

Founded in 1973, Westwater Arts has created multimedia experiences for more than one million classical music lovers. To date, over 200 U.S. and international orchestras have programmed their groundbreaking art form: symphonic photochoreography. Westwater Arts' visual repertoire is set to music by Dvořák, Mahler, Copland, Shostakovich and 22 other renowned composers. 

Since joining Westwater Arts in 2009, Nicholas has photographed, produced, and performed over a dozen photochoreography pieces. Some recent projects have taken him to many of our beautiful national parks, Iceland, Mexico and the Czech Republic. His creative process begins with either a visual concept or a musical work, then he pairs one with the other. During concerts, Nicholas uses multiple digital projectors to fill a large panoramic screen with hundreds of tightly choreographed image transitions, which he live - cues from memory. He has worked on more than 120 concerts with orchestras in cities across the U.S. as well as Scotland, England, Singapore, Canada, Poland and Germany. When Nicholas is not traveling for concerts or photographing new “visual concertos,” you can usually find him on the road in his vintage Airstream or planning his next big bike adventure. 

For this special return concert with the Austin Symphony, Nicholas is presenting National Park Suite and Rodeo! With National Park Suite we’re exploring an important facet of the American experience. Nicholas produced National Park Suite from photographs made in 30+ national parks and monuments, all choreographed to Ives’s enchanting second movement from his Symphony No. 1 — this rendition is a new premiere in Austin! Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, and the Great Smoky Mountains are just a few of the dozens of places showcasing America’s most majestic natural treasures. Or as writer, historian and conservationist Wallace Stegner put it, “National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, hey reflect us at our best...” 

Changing up the pace is Rodeo!, which is set to Copland’s synonymous work. The piece portrays the excitement of a lively small - town rodeo from behind the scenes, with a backdrop of sweeping western landscapes and centuries of ranching heritage in the American West.