Andris Nelsons
Andris Nelsons OBE (born 18 November 1978) is a Latvian conductor. He is currently music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was previously music director of the Latvian National Opera, chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Andris Nelsons
18 November 1978
Conductor
2003–present
Early life[edit]
Nelsons was born in Riga. His mother founded the first early music ensemble in Latvia, and his father was a choral conductor, cellist, and teacher.[1] At age five, his mother and stepfather (a choir conductor) took him to a performance of Wagner's Tannhäuser, which Nelsons refers to as a profoundly formative experience: "...it had a hypnotic effect on me. I was overwhelmed by the music. I cried when Tannhäuser died. I still think this was the biggest thing that happened in my childhood."[2]
As a youth, Nelsons studied piano, and took up the trumpet at age 12.[2] He also sang bass-baritone, with a special interest in early music, in his mother's ensemble.[3] He studied for one summer at the Dartington International Summer School with Evelyn Tubb. He served as a trumpeter with the orchestra of the Latvian National Opera.[4]
Personal life[edit]
Nelsons was formerly married to the Latvian soprano Kristīne Opolais. They met during Nelsons's tenure at Latvian National Opera, when she was a member of the Latvian National Opera chorus, and later became a solo singer with the company.[36] The couple married in 2011.[37] Their daughter, Adriana Anna, was born on 28 December 2011. The couple announced their divorce on 27 March 2018.[38] Nelsons remarried in April 2019, to Alice Heidler.[39] Nelsons is a longtime practitioner of Taekwondo, and earned his black belt in November 2022.[40]