Jeff Nelsen (born December 11, 1969) is a Canadian

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

player. He is also a solo horn in the Canadian Brass and a Professor of horn at the

Jacobs School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Bloomington, IN Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 census. It is the seventh-most populous city in Indiana and the fourth-most populous outside the Indianapolis metropoli ...

. He has performed in the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1947, the orchestra plays most of its concerts at the Centennial Concert Hall. Including travelling performances, the WSO presents an average of ...

, Montreal Symphony,

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic is an American symphony orchestra based in New York City. Known officially as the ''Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc.'', and globally known as the ''New York Philharmonic Orchestra'' (NYPO) or the ''New Yo ...

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891, the ensemble has been based in the Symphony Center since 1904 and plays a summer season at the Ravinia F ...

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...

, and

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The NSO regularly ...

Biography

Nelsen studied music at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. While at university, he won an audition for an orchestral spot, subsequently leaving school to take the position as fourth horn in the Winnipeg Symphony. The following year, he won an audition for fourth horn in the Montreal Symphony. Nelsen has toured and recorded on and off for almost 20 years with Canadian Brass. He has performed recitals and concerti with orchestras in North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. He was recruited to Indiana University's

, where he currently teaches. Nelsen created a workshop called Fearless Performance, where he addresses common anxieties performing musicians face. Nelsen shared this seminar as part of a TEDx Talk. He has performed as a part of the orchestra for two Broadway shows (

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 children's film, children's Musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. It stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, ...

and " The Pirate Queen"), toured with

Michael Bolton Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as Michael Bolton, is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton performed in the hard rock and heavy metal music genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo a ...

and

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

, and performed in the Balkan Gypsy funk band of Slavic Soul Party. Nelsen has joined the

Academy of Magical Arts The Magic Castle is a performance venue, restaurant, and clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts for magicians and magic enthusiasts in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. The Academy was started in 1952 by W ...

at the Magic Castle in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Discography selections

* ''

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

Horn Trio: Op. 40 w/Mozart Horn Quintet, adapted for Horn Trio by Tony Rickard'' *: 2010, Opening Day Records * ''The Planets with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra'' *:

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian conductor. He has been chief conductor of Zurich's Tonhalle since 2020. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia (then occupied by the Soviet Union), to Liilia Järvi and the Estoni ...

, conductor *: 2009, Telarc * ''Pirate Queen, Original Broadway Cast Recording'' *: 2007, Sony Classics * ''

Failure to Launch ''Failure to Launch'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Tom Dey, and starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker alongside Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Terry Bradshaw, and Kathy Bates. The film f ...

'' *: 2006,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

* '' Lucky Number Slevin'' *: 2006, Capitol Films * ''Stan Kenton Christmas Carols - Boston Brass and Friends'' *: 2006, Summit Classical * '' Stealth'' *: 2003, Hal Leonard DVD * '' Elizabeth Rex Soundtrack'' *: 2003, Rhombus Media * ''I Found Love'' *: Denzal Sinclaire *: 2002, Blue Note Records * '' Pitch Black'' *: 2000, Interscope Communications Pictures * ''The Bride of Chucky'' *: 1998, Midwinter Productions, Inc. * ''

Air Bud ''Air Bud'' is a 1997 sports comedy-drama film directed by Charles Martin Smith. An international co-production of the United States and Canada, the film stars Kevin Zegers as a young boy who befriends a runaway Golden Retriever (portrayed ...

'' *: 1997,

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film Film production company, production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios (division), the Walt Disney Studios, a division of Disney Entertainment, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. The st ...

* ''Berlioz Requiem'' *:

Montréal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Award. Dutoit held previous positions ...

, conductor *: 1995, London/Decca * ''Bartók Concerto for Orchestra'' *:

, conductor *: 1994, London/Decca DVD Recordings with Canadian Brass * ''Stars and Stripes- Canadian Brass Salute America'' *: 2010, Opening Day Records * Echo; Glory of Gabrieli *: 2009, Opening Day Records * ''Swing That Music'' *: 2009, Opening Day Records * ''Legends'' *: 2008, Opening Day Records * ''Bach'' *: 2008, Opening Day Records * ''High Society'' *: 2007, Opening Day Records * ''Christmas Tradition'' *: 2007, Opening Day Records * ''And So It Goes, Giles Tomkins'' *: 2006, Opening Day Records * ''Magic Horn'' *: 2004, Opening Day Records * ''Amazing Brass'' *: 2002, Opening Day Records * ''Holidays with Canadian Brass'' *: 2000, Opening Day Records

Biography

Discography selections

References

External links