Striking a Chord
“Four chords in, we have no idea where we’re meant to be,” he says, fingers poised above the keys. “Try to ID that place of home to your ear.”
Chords reverberate throughout the room as the lesson of the early signs of Beethoven’s genius for structural and harmonic daring come ringing through.
For Hicks, there is a lot more at stake than just learning to appreciate music. “The humanities box is not just about appreciation of the arts, but about a style of thinking, critical thinking, that our very democracy relies upon,” he says. “We have an opportunity, as artists and historians of all different types, to emphasize those skills in our classroom teaching, and it is an important responsibility.”
Born and raised on the small island of Guernsey off the coast of France, Hicks began playing piano at age 5, inspired by his great-grandmother. “I was learning to read music at the same time as learning to read English,” he recalls, adding that he returns home often.
After earning simultaneous degrees from both the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music, Hicks came to America in 2015 for his master’s at Yale and doctorate at Northwestern. He then taught at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., for two years before coming to the College. His performance career has taken him to prestigious venues like London’s Wigmore Hall, and he has recorded multiple albums, including a release this August of Chopin’s Nocturnes.
Hicks also oversees the College’s International Piano Series, which brings world-class pianists to campus for performances and master classes. Department chair Michael O’Brien notes that Hicks stood out in a highly competitive international search not just for his artistry, but for his vision for growing the program.
“As the artistic director of the series,” he says, “Dr. Hicks is a public champion for the piano’s relevance to modern society, not only for the College, but the community as a whole.”
Hicks has already put his stamp on the series, including moving master classes to the renovated Recital Hall and opening them to the public. He’s also secured impressive artists for the 2025–26 program, such as Richard Goode, whom O’Brien calls “arguably the foremost living performer of Beethoven’s piano work in the world.”
In between it all, Hicks manages to practice his craft for 20 to 30 hours a week. Unlike most artists who practice to hone their performance, Hicks performs so he can carry on practicing.
“I love exploring a piece so deeply that I get to know a composer and their experience,” he says. “It teaches you about enjoying the journey, and that skill of learning to enjoy the process makes you a much happier person in life generally.”