CCM welcomes Ben Nicholson as Assistant Professor of Immersive Media and Live Events

CCM welcomes Ben Nicholson as Assistant Professor of Immersive Media and Live Events

Nicholson will also serve as Program Director of the new Live and Immersive Media Program at CCM

UC College-Conservatory of Music Dean Pete Jutras has announced the appointment of Benjamin Nicholson as CCM's new Assistant Professor of Immersive Media and Visuals for Live Events. A CCM alumnus (MFA Lighting Design & Technology, 2025), Nicholson's faculty appointment officially begins on Aug. 15, 2026, and he will work with college leadership to develop classes, content and programming in Live and Immersive Media at CCM.

Nicholson is an immersive media educator, creative producer and experience designer working at the intersection of live entertainment, emerging technology and higher education. His work focuses on preparing the next generation of creators for careers in virtual production, immersive experiences, concert touring, projection mapping, interactive media and experiential storytelling. Through his teaching, creative practice and industry partnerships, Nicholson is helping shape the emerging field of Live and Immersive Media and is leading the development of a new academic program dedicated to preparing students for the future of experience-driven entertainment and media.

Over the past two decades, Nicholson has contributed to some of the most recognized live productions and media experiences in the world. His professional credits include creative and technical leadership roles on projects involving U2, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Kanye West, Bruno Mars, Jay-Z, League of Legends and the Super Bowl Halftime Show. His work spans concert touring, broadcast television, immersive installations, projection mapping, virtual production, branded experiences and large-scale public events.

Nicholson is particularly known for building bridges between academia and industry. Throughout his career, he has focused on creating educational experiences that mirror professional practice, connecting students directly with emerging technologies, industry partners and real-world creative challenges. His students and former collaborators have gone on to work at organizations including Sphere Entertainment, Lucasfilm, XR Studios, Disguise, leading virtual production studios, systems integration firms, and major concert touring and entertainment design companies. His approach emphasizes not only technical mastery, but also creative leadership, collaboration and professional readiness in rapidly evolving industries.

A champion of interdisciplinary collaboration, Nicholson develops programs and curricula that bring together artists, designers, technologists, engineers, filmmakers, performers and producers to create new forms of media experience. He previously led the development of a $2.5 million XR Stage and Immersive Media Lab, creating one of the region's most advanced environments for virtual production, extended reality and real-time media creation. The facility serves as a bridge between industry and academia, providing students, artists and organizations with opportunities to explore emerging forms of storytelling and experience design.

At CCM Nicholson will lead the creation of a new Live and Immersive Media program that integrates creative technology, production, design and performance. The program is designed to connect students directly to the rapidly evolving worlds of immersive entertainment, virtual production, interactive experiences and large-scale live events while leveraging CCM's internationally recognized strengths in performance, design and production. As part of his role, Nicholson will oversee CCM's state-of-the-art Extended Reality (XR) Studio, a virtual production space that allows students, faculty and staff to blend traditional physical performances with an immersive virtual environment created by the studio's 16x10 foot LED wall.

Beyond the classroom, Nicholson serves as Technical Creative Producer for BLINK, one of the largest light, art and projection mapping festivals in North America. His ongoing professional work keeps him actively engaged with the technologies, workflows, and creative practices shaping the future of entertainment and immersive experience design.

A lifelong Cincinnati-area resident, Nicholson is deeply invested in the future of his community. Together with his wife, he is actively involved in neighborhood development, civic improvement, and community-building efforts throughout Cincinnati. Their work focuses on strengthening public spaces, supporting local organizations, and contributing to the long-term vitality of the city's neighborhoods. He believes that the same principles that create meaningful experiences-connection, creativity, collaboration and shared purpose-can also help build stronger communities. This commitment to service and placemaking informs both his professional work and his vision for how the arts, technology and education can contribute to the future of Cincinnati and the communities it serves.

Nicholson's vision is to establish Live and Immersive Media as a distinct area of academic study and creative practice, one that integrates storytelling, performance, design, engineering and emerging technology. Through teaching, industry collaboration, creative production and community engagement, he is helping prepare a new generation of creators to lead the future of experiential entertainment, virtual production, interactive media and immersive storytelling.

"Ben Nicholson is a highly accomplished and respected leader in this industry whose work has been featured in major national and international shows and events," said Jutras. "His expertise, connections to industry and vision for this program make him exceptionally well suited to lead CCM students in this exciting and growing field, and continue to ensure that CCM's offerings are at the leading edge of current trends and technology. I am grateful to our search committee chair Kevin Holzman and committee members Joe Brackman, Charlie Calvert, Don Hancock and Sharon Huizinga for their efforts with this successful search."

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Featured image at the top: new CCM faculty member Ben Nicholson. Photo/Jon Willis

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Tags

• College-Conservatory of Music
• Alumni Association
• Lighting Design and Technology
• Faculty Staff
• Electronic Media Production
• Theatre Design and Production
• Arts & Culture

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