Eric Nelson

Events

  • Closing Concert – Organ / Choir / Orchestra - Caroline Robinson / Renée Anne Louprette/Amanda Mole organ; Auburn Symphony, Wesley Schulz, conductor; Seattle Pro Musica, Karen P. Thomas, conductor - Benaroya Hall - Fisk Organ
    200 University Street
    July 7, 2022 @ 7:30 pm
    The gala Closing Concert at Benaroya Hall includes the 2021 Marilyn Mason competition winner, Rashaan Rori Allwood’s “In Memory of...” for solo organ and speaker. The concert features works for choir and organ, including James MacMillan’s “Cantos Sagrados,” and a commission from the 2020 Atlanta National Convention by Eric Nelson. Works for organ and orchestra include Judith Bingham’s “Jacob’s Ladder” and David Briggs’s “Concerto for Organ and Orchestra.” Performers include organists Amanda Mole, Caroline Robinson, and Renée Anne Louprette; Seattle Pro Musica, conducted by Karen P. Thomas; and the Auburn Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Wesley Schulz. About "In Memory of..." by Rashaan Rori Allwood, from the composer: “This piece is written as an homage to victims of oppression and hardships. Choose a person or group of persons whose death holds special significance and benefits from awareness. The name chosen should be relevant to your audience. Examples include George Floyd, Ayo Bakole, Breonna Taylor, the Anishinaabe people, etc.” About "The Love of God" by Eric Nelson, from the composer: “For this commission, ‘The Love of God,’ I have taken Frederick Martin Lehman’s text and wedded it to new music for choir and organ, without any reference to the original tune or style period. The choir and the organ engage in a sort of dialogue, joining together only at key moments.” Major funding for this concert is provided by C.B. Fisk. 

Eric Nelson
About

Eric Nelson is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Emory University. He is also the conductor and Artistic Director of Atlanta Master Chorale. Dr. Nelson’s choirs have performed throughout the world, including London, Rome, Krakow, Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Moscow, Seoul, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Sydney Opera House.

He has conducted choirs at eight American Choral Directors Association conventions, including Atlanta Master Chorale’s performance at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis for the National Convention in 2017, and the Emory Concert Choir’s performance at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall for the National Convention in 2011.

In the summer of 2016, to the astonishment of all who know him, he appeared with Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones at Bobby Dodd Stadium, leading the Concert Choir in the classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

Most recently, in May of 2017, he embarked with the Emory Concert Choir on a performance tour to Spain and Portugal where they sang in Granada, Seville, Lisbon and at the Alhambra.

Dr. Nelson’s ensembles are characterized by the performance of repertoire in a wide variety of styles and for their ability to fuse technical precision with warmth of musical expression. He appears regularly as clinician, lecturer, and guest conductor for honor choirs, conventions, symposiums, workshops, and all-state choral festivals. Nelson is also past president of the GA ACDA.

Dr. Nelson’s choral compositions and arrangements are sung regularly by ensembles throughout the United States. He is the editor of the “Atlanta Master Chorale Choral Series,” a division of Morningstar Music Publishers and ECSchirmer. His compositions are also published by Colla Voce and Augsburg Fortress. He holds degrees in voice and conducting from Houghton College, Westminster Choir College, and Indiana University.