Nolan Ehlers is a percussionist/performer of new music, experimental music, and improvisation. He creates improvisations and compositions that use amplification and electronics to explore the acoustic possibilities of percussive instruments. Nolan commissions and premiers new solos and chamber music, working in tandem with composers to develop works that respond to modern times and foster curiosity in audiences.

Nolan is a member of Extended Music Collective, a sextet who performs newly commissioned works as well as their own reinterpretations of minimalism and electronic music. Nolan is also a founding member of Inland Ocean, a collective of musicians, visual artists, and dancers who develop and perform multidisciplinary projects. Previously, Nolan founded Else, if Else, a trio that explored the gray area between composition and improvisation. Other notable ensembles Nolan has performed with include Ensemble Modern, Beyond This Point, and Fulcrum Point New Music Project.

Nolan has appeared as a soloist with the University of Michigan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lawrence University Percussion Ensemble. Recently, he performed the premiere of Heleen Van Haegenborgh’s Stadsymphonie, leading the bike, moped, and motorcycle section of the orchestra. With the University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble, Nolan developed and premiered Michael Gordon’s Field of Vision, an outdoor work for 36 percussionists. He can be heard on the recording of Field of Vision, as well as John Luther Adams’ An Atlas of Deep Time with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Recently, Nolan has performed at Chicago’s Symphony Center, Bang on a Can’s LOUD Weekend and Long Play Festival, Bozar, and Concertgebouw Brugge. He has performed with a variety of prominent artists, including Aiyung Huang, Ty Bouque, and Alexandre Babel.

Nolan studied Afro-Cuban drumming with the acclaimed rumba group Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. He directed Lawrence University’s Afro-Cuban ensemble Tambo Toké, and he received a 2020 Downbeat Award for a collaborative performance with the Lawrence University Jazz Band.

Nolan is currently based in Brussels, Belgium. He studied at Lawrence University (Dane Richeson), University of Michigan (Doug Perkins, Ian Antonio, Nancy Zeltsman), and the Royal Conservatory of Ghent.