Conductor John Nelson has Died, Aged 83

Nelson held music directorships at orchestras including the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre de chambre de Paris

American conductor John Nelson has passed away at the age of 83.

Born in San José, Costa Rica, to American missionary parents on December 6, 1941, Nelson returned to the United States to study at Wheaton College, eventually going on to study conducting with Jean Moray at the Juilliard School.

Over the course of a distinguished five-decade career, Nelson held a number of music directorships, including at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Caramoor Music Festival in New York, and the Orchestre de chambre de Paris.  In addition, Nelson held the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the National Orchestra of Lyon, Artistic Advisor of the orchestras of Nashville and Louisville, and Principal Guest Conductor of the National Orchestra of Costa Rica.

Nelson was a Berlioz specialist, and in 2018 he released a complete recording of the composer’s five-hour opera Les Troyens. Released on the Warner Classics/Erato label, the disc featured the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and a vocal cast including Joyce DiDonato, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Michael Spyres. This recording received a great deal of critical acclaim.

Nelson's other discs include recordings of Handel’s Semele (which garnered a GRAMMY Award), Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict (Diapason d’Or), and highly acclaimed DVDs of Bach’s B minor Mass and St. Matthew Passion, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.

Our condolences to Nelson's family, friends, and colleagues.