Jeff Nelsen

Jeff Nelsen (born December 11, 1969) is a Canadian French horn player and is Professor of Horn at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. He has performed in the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and National symphonies.

Biography

Jeff is a horn player who has thrilled and inspired audiences and students around the world. While studying music at McGill University in Montreal, Jeff won an audition for an orchestra. He left school to take the position as fourth horn in the Winnipeg Symphony; the following year he won the audition for fourth horn in the Montreal Symphony.

Since then, and for the past twenty years Jeff has been living his dreams full out and fearlessly. Jeff toured and recorded for eight years with Canadian Brass, he has performed recitals and concerti with orchestras in North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia, and he is a professor at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Jeff's biggest passion is talking others into reaching their dreams through what he calls Fearless Performance. The world agrees this is an important subject, as this is a topic on which Jeff recently gave a TEDx Talk. Other performing experiences for Jeff have included playing the full run of two Broadway shows ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "The Pirate Queen" - two of Broadway's most expensive flops – as a result, he's not allowed back there!), touring with Michael Bolton and Barry Manilow, recording dozens of movie soundtracks, and performing in the horn sections of orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Montreal, Vancouver, and National Symphonies, and the Balkan Gypsy funk band of Slavic Soul Party. With Canadian Brass, Jeff has also performed with the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, the symphonies of Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Colorado, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, Phoenix, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, with the esteemed German, London, and El Sistema brass ensembles, and special annual concerts with the principal brass of the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra. Most recently, in December, 2012, Jeff had a blast performing with the “Distant Worlds - Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Concert” in Chicago.

Jeff's other most recent exciting accomplishment is becoming a magician member of the “Academy of Magical Arts” at the world famous Magic Castle in Los Angeles. Jeff helped design his own model of Dieter Otto horn (180KA-JN) and his own mouthpiece as well. Jeff gives back to the horn community as a member of the International Horn Society's advisory council and the board of directors for the International Horn Competition of America.

Media Links

• TEDxBloomington -- Jeff Nelsen -- "Fearless Performance"
• Fearless Performance for Musicians - Indiana Public Media
• Brahms Horn Trio - Interview Video
• Brahms Horn Trio - Performance Video
• Jeff Nelsen plays Nagy's Happy Blues on french horn in Chile
• Canadian Brass, Paganini Variations feat. Jeff Nelsen, horn

Jeff Nelsen was a huge hit as one of the featured artists at the 37th International Horn Society Symposium ( June 2005). He is one of the most dynamic individuals that I have ever worked with, and is among the finest horn players that I have ever heard. If you know Jeff, you are better for it. If you don't know Jeff, you should.

— Skip Snead, Director of the School of Music, University of Alabama

Discography Selections

• Brahms Horn Trio: Op. 40 w/Mozart Horn Quintet, adapted for Horn Trio by Tony Rickard

  2010, Opening Day Records

• The Planets with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

  Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

  Paavo Järvi, conductor

  2009, Telarc

• Pirate Queen, Original Broadway Cast Recording

  2007, Sony Classics

• Failure to Launch

  2006, Paramount Pictures

• Lucky Number Slevin

  2006, Capitol Films

• Stan Kenton Christmas Carols - Boston Brass and Friends

  2006, Summit Classical

• Stealth

  2003, Hal Leonard DVD

• Elizabeth Rex Soundtrack

  2003, Rhombus Media

• I Found Love

  Denzal Sinclaire

  2002, Blue Note Records

• Pitch Black

  2000, Interscope Communications Pictures

• The Bride of Chucky

  1998, Midwinter Productions, Inc.

• Air Bud

  1997, Walt Disney Pictures

• Berlioz Requiem

  Montréal Symphony Orchestra

  Charles Dutoit, conductor

  1995, London/Decca

• Bartók Concerto for Orchestra

  Montréal Symphony Orchestra

  Charles Dutoit, conductor

  1994, London/Decca DVD

Recordings with Canadian Brass

• Stars and Stripes- Canadian Brass Salute America

  2010, Opening Day Records

• Echo; Glory of Gabrieli

  2009, Opening Day Records

• Swing That Music

  2009, Opening Day Records

• Legends

  2008, Opening Day Records

• Bach

  2008, Opening Day Records

• High Society

  2007, Opening Day Records

• Christmas Tradition

  2007, Opening Day Records

• And So It Goes, Giles Tomkins

  2006, Opening Day Records

• Magic Horn

  2004, Opening Day Records

• Amazing Brass

  2002, Opening Day Records

• Holidays with Canadian Brass

  2000, Opening Day Records