Nicholas Santoro spent 37 years as a music educator and Arts Administrator in New Jersey. He served as an instrumental teacher at Freehold Twp. HS, North Brunswick Twp. HS and Bridgewater-Raritan HS East before entering administration. He then served as a Program Coordinator for the New Jersey School of the Arts, Department Chairperson for the Performing Arts at Arts HS in Newark, Supervisor of Arts Education for the East Brunswick Schools and Arts Supervisor for the South Orange Maplewood School District.
Presently, Mr. Santoro serves as the Founding Director of the Wind Ensemble at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark and Supervisor of Student Teachers for Ithaca College, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and Montclair State University.
Mr. Santoro served on the Music Writing Team for the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in 2001, 2006 and 2009. He was also a member of the Steering Committee for the New Jersey Arts Education Partnership since its inception.
Active as a conductor and performer, Mr. Santoro is the Founder and Conductor of the Central Jersey Wind Ensemble and served as the Music Director of the Rutgers University Alumni Wind Symphony for 15 years. He continues to perform with numerous ensembles, ranging from the Monmouth Symphony and Atlantic Brass Band to the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra.