Conor Nelson

Praised for his “long-breathed phrases and luscious tone” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Canadian flutist Conor Nelson is established as a leading flutist and pedagogue of his generation. Since his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, he has frequently appeared as soloist and recitalist throughout the United States and abroad.

Solo engagements include concerti with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and numerous other orchestras. In addition to being the only wind player to win the Grand Prize at the WAMSO Young Artist Competition, he won first prize at the William C. Byrd Young Artist Competition. He also received top prizes at the New York Flute Club Young Artist Competition, the Haynes International Flute Competition as well as the Fischoff, Coleman, and Yellow Springs chamber music competitions.

Prior to his appointment as Professor of Flute at UW-Madison, he taught at Bowling Green State University and Oklahoma State University in similar capacities. He also serves as Principal Flutist of the New Orchestra of Washington in Washington, D.C.

With percussionist Ayano Kataoka, he performed at Merkin Concert Hall, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan Hall, and Izumi Hall. A recital at the Tokyo Opera City Hall received numerous broadcasts on NHK Television. Their CD, Breaking Training was released on New Focus Recordings (NYC). In addition to several other releases on New Focus, he has also recorded for the Centaur, Albany, Toccata Classics (London), Blue Griffin, and the paladino music label (Vienna).

He has collaborated with Claude Frank on the Schneider concert series in NYC and appeared at numerous chamber music festivals across the country including the OK Mozart, Skaneateles, Yellow Barn, Cooperstown, Salt Bay, Look and Listen (NYC), Norfolk (Yale), Green Mountain, Chesapeake, and the Chamber Music Quad Cities series. CMC since 2012.

He received degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, and Stony Brook University where he was the winner of the schoolwide concerto competitions at all three institutions. He is also a recipient of the Thomas Nyfenger Prize, the Samuel Baron Prize, and the Presser Award. His principal teachers include Carol Wincenc, Ransom Wilson, Linda Chesis, Susan Hoeppner, and Amy Hamilton. Conor is an artist with Powell Flutes and the flutist with the with the Wingra Wind Quintet at UW-Madison, one of the longest standing quintets world-wide.