 |
 |
 |
| Copyright 2009 Leah Gale Nelson. All rights reserved. webmaster@leahgalenelson.com |
Leah Gale Nelson, violin, specializes in historical
performance practice of the 17th and 18th centuries. She
has been called, an “expert in her field” by the New York
Times, and the Philadelphia press has called her “a
rising star in the early music scene.” Based in New York
City, she has performed as a chamber musician and
soloist in both North America and Europe, and is in
demand as concertmaster throughout the United States
for her interpretations of baroque and classical music,
from Monteverdi to Mozart. For some of the finest choirs in
New York, she has led performances of Monteverdi’s
Vespers of 1610, Bach’s St. John Passion and Mass in B
Minor, numerous mass settings of Haydn, Mozart, and
Schubert, and the New York premier of a Telemann St.
Matthew Passion for the Church of St. Luke in the Fields,
where she is often a featured player.
She has served as concertmaster with Chicago Opera
Theater and conductor Jane Glover in critically acclaimed
productions of Monteverdi’s operas in Chicago and New
York; as guest director for Lyra Baroque Orchestra in
Minneapolis; and has led Handel’s Messiah in countless
performances throughout the country. She founded and
co-directed Gotham City Baroque Orchestra, and a
chamber group, Louis Louis, presenting three seasons
of concerts, culminating in her concept and production of,
“A Day in the Life of Louis XIV.”
performance practice of the 17th and 18th centuries. She
has been called, an “expert in her field” by the New York
Times, and the Philadelphia press has called her “a
rising star in the early music scene.” Based in New York
City, she has performed as a chamber musician and
soloist in both North America and Europe, and is in
demand as concertmaster throughout the United States
for her interpretations of baroque and classical music,
from Monteverdi to Mozart. For some of the finest choirs in
New York, she has led performances of Monteverdi’s
Vespers of 1610, Bach’s St. John Passion and Mass in B
Minor, numerous mass settings of Haydn, Mozart, and
Schubert, and the New York premier of a Telemann St.
Matthew Passion for the Church of St. Luke in the Fields,
where she is often a featured player.
She has served as concertmaster with Chicago Opera
Theater and conductor Jane Glover in critically acclaimed
productions of Monteverdi’s operas in Chicago and New
York; as guest director for Lyra Baroque Orchestra in
Minneapolis; and has led Handel’s Messiah in countless
performances throughout the country. She founded and
co-directed Gotham City Baroque Orchestra, and a
chamber group, Louis Louis, presenting three seasons
of concerts, culminating in her concept and production of,
“A Day in the Life of Louis XIV.”
These days, Leah can be found collaborating with dancers, filmmakers, as well as other artists,
stage and choral directors, joining early music and historical practice with modern performance. With
dancer Carlos Fittante she created Fandango Fantasie, performing her solo violin arrangement of a
Boccherini’s guitar quintet, and her rendition of the Biber Passacaglia is currently in the repertoire of
the dance company Isabel Gotzkowsky and Friends. In Minneapolis, she served as founding
concertmaster and Artistic Director of Ensemble Sebastian, and in 2004 she was appointed String
Artist in Residence at the Basilica of Saint Mary.
A highlight this season is the continuation of her traversal of the 16 “Mystery Sonatas” of H.I.F. Biber in
concerts at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in New York, and in Minneapolis at the Basilica of
Saint Mary.
Ms. Nelson teaches privately and is the string coach for the New York Continuo Collective. She is
regularly called upon for teaching and coaching engagements, and has been a guest lecturer at
Columbia University, Vassar College, the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, and the
Schubert Club in St. Paul.
She has been a principal player for the Clarion Music Society, Concert Royal, the New York Baroque
Dance Company, the Boston Camerata, the Connecticut Early Music Festival, the Smithsonian
Chamber Orchestra, and the American Classical Orchestra; and has performed as a soloist and
chamber musician in Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and Chicago’s Orchestra
Hall. Her leadership and passion for historical performance practice have been influenced by her
professional work with Jane Glover, Paul Goodwin, Frederick Hammond, Monica Huggett, Michael
Sand, Kenneth Slowik, Frederick Renz, James Richman, Catherine Turocy, and the late and terribly
missed Newell Jenkins, and Paul Echols.
As a modern violinist, Leah’s performing career began in Chicago where, through the Civic Orchestra
of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she worked extensively with then CSO Assistant
Conductor Michael Morgan, and with other preeminent conductors including Daniel Barenboim, John
Corigliano, Christopher Hogwood, Leonard Slatkin, and the late Sir Georg Solti. While musically
inspiring, this training also offered regular exposure to behind-the-scenes operational details of a
symphony orchestra.
Born in Texas and raised in Minnesota, she holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Chicago Musical
College/Roosevelt University and a Master of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music in New
York, where she studied violin with David Nadien, baroque violin with Nancy Wilson, chamber music
with Arthur Haas, Julius Levine, and Martha McGaughey, and played in masterclasses for William
Christie, Jordi Savall, and Stanley Ritchie.
stage and choral directors, joining early music and historical practice with modern performance. With
dancer Carlos Fittante she created Fandango Fantasie, performing her solo violin arrangement of a
Boccherini’s guitar quintet, and her rendition of the Biber Passacaglia is currently in the repertoire of
the dance company Isabel Gotzkowsky and Friends. In Minneapolis, she served as founding
concertmaster and Artistic Director of Ensemble Sebastian, and in 2004 she was appointed String
Artist in Residence at the Basilica of Saint Mary.
A highlight this season is the continuation of her traversal of the 16 “Mystery Sonatas” of H.I.F. Biber in
concerts at the Church of St. Luke in the Fields in New York, and in Minneapolis at the Basilica of
Saint Mary.
Ms. Nelson teaches privately and is the string coach for the New York Continuo Collective. She is
regularly called upon for teaching and coaching engagements, and has been a guest lecturer at
Columbia University, Vassar College, the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, and the
Schubert Club in St. Paul.
She has been a principal player for the Clarion Music Society, Concert Royal, the New York Baroque
Dance Company, the Boston Camerata, the Connecticut Early Music Festival, the Smithsonian
Chamber Orchestra, and the American Classical Orchestra; and has performed as a soloist and
chamber musician in Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and Chicago’s Orchestra
Hall. Her leadership and passion for historical performance practice have been influenced by her
professional work with Jane Glover, Paul Goodwin, Frederick Hammond, Monica Huggett, Michael
Sand, Kenneth Slowik, Frederick Renz, James Richman, Catherine Turocy, and the late and terribly
missed Newell Jenkins, and Paul Echols.
As a modern violinist, Leah’s performing career began in Chicago where, through the Civic Orchestra
of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she worked extensively with then CSO Assistant
Conductor Michael Morgan, and with other preeminent conductors including Daniel Barenboim, John
Corigliano, Christopher Hogwood, Leonard Slatkin, and the late Sir Georg Solti. While musically
inspiring, this training also offered regular exposure to behind-the-scenes operational details of a
symphony orchestra.
Born in Texas and raised in Minnesota, she holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Chicago Musical
College/Roosevelt University and a Master of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music in New
York, where she studied violin with David Nadien, baroque violin with Nancy Wilson, chamber music
with Arthur Haas, Julius Levine, and Martha McGaughey, and played in masterclasses for William
Christie, Jordi Savall, and Stanley Ritchie.
| photographs by Jill Levine |
 |