Theodore Nelson

Cello

Theodore Nelson ended his 19-year tenure as a member of the cello section in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra to shift into his current role as VP of Artistic Planning and Operations at the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance.

Mr. Nelson served as Associate Principal cellist of the Kansas City Symphony for five seasons, and he has also been a member of the Akron Symphony and Toledo Symphony Orchestras in Ohio.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Nelson has been a member and artistic director of concert:nova for the past 11 seasons. He has performed at the Kneisel Hall Festival in Blue Hill Maine, the Utah Music Festival, and the Johannesen International School of the Arts and Scotia Festival in Canada. While in Kansas City, he performed for the Ruel Joyce Recital Series, the Summerfest Chamber Music series, and was a regular participant with the New Ear Contemporary Music Ensemble. He is a regular participant in the Cincinnati Symphony Chamber Players series, and has appeared as guest artist at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. A native of Vermont, he received his Bachelor of Music degree at the Eastman School of Music and his Master of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he performed Strauss’ Don Quixote as soloist with the CIM Symphony Orchestra. In 1995, he was invited to participate in the Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists at the University of Southern California. His teachers include Alan Harris, Pamela Frame and Elsa Hilger.