Biography
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 North America and Europe, and has been 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 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. In the
late 90’s founded and co-directed the short-lived Gotham City Baroque
Orchestra and a chamber group, Louis Louis.
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 North America and Europe, and has been 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 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. In the
late 90’s founded and co-directed the short-lived Gotham City Baroque
Orchestra and a chamber group, Louis Louis.
| Copyright 2011 Leah Gale Nelson. All rights reserved. webmaster@leahgalenelson.com |
A brief hiatus from New York found her along the lakes and rivers of the upper midwest, and the Basilica
of Saint Mary in Minneapolis where she was appointed 2004 String Artist in Residence. Back in New York,
she has enjoyed collaborations with dancers, filmmakers, 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 Boccherini’s “Fandango” guitar quintet, and her
rendition of the Biber Passacaglia is in the repertoire of the dance company Isabel Gotzkowsky and
Friends. In 2007, Leah began a 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 at the Basilica of Saint Mary, a journey that inspired a
recording of the collection for the Lyrichord label (2011).
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 especially 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 allowed for daily exposure to behind-the-scenes operations details of a major
symphony orchestra.
Born in Texas and raised in Minnesota, Leah 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 masterclasses for William Christie, Jordi
Savall, and Stanley Ritchie.
Biography for programs
of Saint Mary in Minneapolis where she was appointed 2004 String Artist in Residence. Back in New York,
she has enjoyed collaborations with dancers, filmmakers, 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 Boccherini’s “Fandango” guitar quintet, and her
rendition of the Biber Passacaglia is in the repertoire of the dance company Isabel Gotzkowsky and
Friends. In 2007, Leah began a 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 at the Basilica of Saint Mary, a journey that inspired a
recording of the collection for the Lyrichord label (2011).
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 especially 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 allowed for daily exposure to behind-the-scenes operations details of a major
symphony orchestra.
Born in Texas and raised in Minnesota, Leah 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 masterclasses for William Christie, Jordi
Savall, and Stanley Ritchie.
Biography for programs
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