Grammy® Award-winning John Nelson is recognized worldwide as one of America's most eminent conductors as well as the leading living interpreter of the music Hector Berlioz.  Over a career spanning five decades, Mr. Nelson has conducted the world' leading orchestra and ensembles including the orchestras of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Montreal and Toronto.  In Europe, he has enjoyed working with such ensembles as the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Czech Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, Gewendhaus Leipzig, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Oslo Philharmonic, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  Also active throughout Asia, Mr. Nelson has worked with the China Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony of Taiwan and the New Japan Philharmonic.

Over the course of his career, Nelson as served as Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Opera Theater of St. Louis, the Caramoor Music Festival and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris.  In addition, Mr. Nelson has held the positions of Principal Guest Conductor for the National Orchestra of Lyon, Artistic Advisor of the orchestras of Nashville and Louisville, and is presently the Principal Guest Conductor of the National Orchestra of Costa Rica -- the country in which he was born to American missionary parents.

Also active with the world's leading opera houses, he has conducted at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Opera Bastille de Paris, Grand Theatre de Geneve, Dutch National Opera and Teatro dell'opera di Roma.

Nelson received outstanding critical reception to his 2018 recording of Berlioz's Les Troyens.  Recorded for Warner Classics/Erato with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and a cast that included Joyce DiDonato and Michael Spryes, the recording was chosen as "Recording of the Year" from Gramophone Magazine and "Recording of the Decade" by The Sunday Times.  He has also led performances of The Damnation of Faust, Harold in Italy and Les Nuit d'Ete with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg.  To mark the 150th anniversary of Berlioz's death, Nelson led a performance of Berlioz's Requiem in London's iconic St. Paul's Cathedral with the London Philharmonia and Chorus.

Highlights of the current season include returns to Indianapolis Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and recordings of Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Requiem.