David Nichtern (born 19 February 1948) is an American

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

and television

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

artist and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

teacher of the Shambala tradition of

Chögyam Trungpa Chögyam Trungpa ( Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987) was a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, the 11th of the Trungpa tülkus, a tertön, sup ...

Biography

Born and raised in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, Nichtern is the son of Sol Nichtern, a prominent New York psychiatrist and writer, and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

producer Claire Nichtern, the first female

Tony award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

winner. Having begun practicing music at age eight, he began his career as a professional musician during his college years at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He served as director of sales for the New England Digital Corporation in the 1980s. He is the founder of music-marketing company Nudgie Music LLC, and its divisions Dharma Moon and 5 Points Records. He wrote the song " Midnight at the Oasis." He has his own world/fusion band, Drala and has also released a solo record entitled ''From Here To Nichternity'', which features five cuts that were originally cues on ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'', in addition to an instrumental duet of "Midnight at the Oasis" featuring

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

. David Nichtern is also a member of The Beyman Bros, an instrumental trio featuring Nichtern,

Christopher Guest Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest (born February 5, 1948) is an American-British screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor, and comedian. Guest is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed, and starred in h ...

and C.J. Vanston. Beginning in 1970, Nichtern became a student of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

, and was taught by the founder, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Nichtern has since become a senior teacher. Nichtern has been the Director of Expansion for Shambhala Training, and co-director of the Karme Choling Meditation Center in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

. Nichtern's son, Ethan Nichtern, is a Buddhist teacher and author.

5 Points Records

5 Points Records is a privately held label based in New York City founded by David Nichtern. Its sister companies include the world-lifestyle label Dharma Moon, the custom label 5 Points V.I.P. and the music publishing company Nudgie Tunes. The label's first release, the first installment of the Rare Elements series, brought together an eclectic mix of talent that involved original works by acclaimed musician Ustad Sultan Khan being remixed by a variety of modern artists, including

Thievery Corporation Thievery Corporation is an American electronic music duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Their musical style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, reggae, Indian classical, Middle Eastern music, hip hop and Brazilian music, including ...

, Joe Claussell, Nickodemus And Osiris and others. Their next release - ''Still Life'' by Kodomo - is a collection of minimal electro tracks representing a set of photos Kodomo took while traveling in Italy, Japan the US, China, etc. The album was released on October 7, 2008. Other upcoming releases include the 2nd installment of their Rare Elements series featuring remixes of Omar Faruk Tekbilek by

Amon Tobin Amon Adonai Santos de Araújo Tobin (born February 7, 1972), known as Amon Tobin (), is a Brazilian electronic musician, composer and producer. He is noted for his unusual methodology in sound design and music production. He has released eight ...

, Junior Sanchez,

Tommie Sunshine Tommie Sunshine (born Thomas Lorello; March 26, 1971) is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternat ...

, Flosstradamus, and more.MySpace.com – 5 Points Records – NEW YORK, New York – Indie / Pop / Electro – www.myspace.com/5pointsrecords
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Awards and nominations

Nichtern has been nominated for ten Daytime Emmy awards from 2000 to 2006, in the category "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series", for his work on ''

'' and ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

''. He won the award in 2000, for ''One Life to Live'', 2001 for ''As the World Turns'', and 2005 for ''One Life to Live''. He has also been nominated for a

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Song of the Year for " Midnight at the Oasis." His first DE nomination was shared with Sybil Costello, Pamela Magee, James Kowal, Gary Deinstadt, Robert Bard, Billy Barber, Earl Rose, Rick Rhodes, Robert Sands, Ed Dzubak, Kevin Bents Jamie Lawrence, and Bette Sussman. His first win was shared with Paul Glass, Jamie Howarth,

Dominic Messinger Dominic Messinger is an American television composer. He began his work in soap opera music on '' General Hospital'', and has since composed for reality series and documentaries including '' Intervention'', '' Brace for Impact'', and for Nickelod ...

, Kevin Bents, Lee Holdridge, Bette Sussman, and

Rob Mounsey Rob Mounsey (born December 2, 1952) is an American musician, composer, and arranger. Music career Mounsey was born in Berea, Ohio, and grew up in Seattle, Washington, spending a few years each in Findlay and Granville, Ohio. At the age of 17 ...

Composing credits

* '' The Student Teachers'' (1973) * '' White Line Fever'' (1975) * '' Sapphire Man'' (1988) * '' The Big Picture'' (1989) * ''

'' (1995–2007) * ''

Soundtrack credits

* ''The Big Picture'' (1989) * '' Perfect Witness'' (1989)

References

External links

DavidNichtern.com
*

at Emusic.com
''Tampa Tribune'' article on OM yoga CD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichtern, David 1948 births Living people People from Manhattan American male composers 21st-century American composers American male songwriters Emmy Award winners 21st-century American male musicians The Beyman Bros members Buddhist artists Columbia University alumni