COSTA MESA, CA (December 11, 2023) – Pacific Chorale Board Chair Craig Springer announced that the Board of Directors has named Alex Nelson to the newly created position of Vice President of Artistic Production and Operations, effective December 4, 2023. In this expanded capacity, Nelson is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of Pacific Chorale, implementing the administrative, fiscal, and organizational goals and strategies that deliver on the organization’s mission and strategic initiatives. He will also assist Artistic Director Robert Istad working on the Chorale’s long-term artistic planning and priorities. Currently in his sixth season with the 200-voice GRAMMY® Award-winning Pacific Chorale, Nelson previously served as Director of Artistic Production.

Says Springer, “During Alex Nelson’s tenure with Pacific Chorale, his creativity, dedication, and commitment to excellence have been a vital part of the choir’s artistic success. We are pleased Alex has agreed to move forward with us in this new role and are confident Pacific Chorale will benefit from his leadership on this broader operational level.”

Istad adds, “Alex Nelson’s superb organizational skills have transformed Pacific Chorale. His passion for Pacific Chorale’s musicians, artistic endeavors, and community educational programs is palpable. I gratefully recognize his significant achievements on behalf of Pacific Chorale and am excited to collaborate with him in his exciting new role.”

Nelson states, “I am grateful to the Board and Rob for the trust placed in me in this new role for the organization. Pacific Chorale is an exceptional community of singers, staff, and patrons – a community I am honored to continue serving in a new capacity. Our forward momentum continues as we plan for a captivating 2024-25 season.”

About Alex Nelson

Now in his sixth season with the 200-voice GRAMMY® Award-winning Pacific Chorale, Alex Nelson has produced the ensemble’s annual performance season as well as many artistically significant individual projects. Highlights from 2023 include the single-concert capture of Monteverdi’s complete Vespers of 1610 as well as the Chorale’s highly successful 12-day tour of Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom in July. In 2021 he helped produce the Chorale’s first PBS program, The Wayfaring Project, one of the most novel and complex productions in the Chorale’s history. In 2020, the first Virtual Tis the Season!  - a fully remote concert presentation - was one of the Chorale’s most successful fundraising events. Nelson is also recognized as Ensemble Manager on the Chorale’s 2022 GRAMMY® Award-winning 2019 recording of Mahler’s Eighth Symphony.

In early 2020 in response to California’s new AB5 legislation related to contractor/employee status, Nelson executed an extensive internal reorganization and strengthening of the Chorale’s 70-voice core ensemble. When the pandemic ended the Chorale’s in-person activities, Nelson remotely produced several high-quality virtual projects. With the conclusion of the pandemic restrictions, Nelson led the Chorale’s safe return to regular rehearsals and remarkable live performances in the 2021-22 season.

Nelson previously worked for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, supervising all concert operations while serving as General Manager of the Orange County Youth Symphony. Nelson also worked as Production Manager of Reimagining Opera for Kids, presenting commissioned child-friendly operas for 25,000 students in Central Indiana.

Born in Hollywood to an American father and Polish mother, Nelson was raised in San Pedro and Palos Verdes, later living in Bloomington, Indiana for eight years. Nelson holds a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Indiana University (IU) Jacobs School of Music, and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Nelson believes in the transformative power of choral singing to amplify and unite the personal beauty of every individual.

About Pacific Chorale

The Grammy Award-winning PACIFIC CHORALE, led by Artistic Director Robert Istad, is an Orange County “treasure” with a “fresh viewpoint” that “can sing anything you put in front of it with polish, poise and tonal splendor” (Orange County Register). It has risen to national prominence since its founding in 1968.

Hailed for delivering “thrilling entertainment” (Voice of OC), the resident choir at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is noted for its artistic innovation and commitment to expanding the choral repertoire. It has given world, U.S., and West Coast premieres of more than 40 works, including numerous commissions, by such lauded composers as John Adams, Jake Heggie, James Hopkins, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Tarik O'Regan, Karen Thomas, Frank Ticheli, András Gábor Virágh, and Eric Whitacre.

In addition to presenting its own concert series each season, Pacific Chorale enjoys a long-standing performance partnership with Pacific Symphony, including the choir’s highly-anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. The chorus also regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with which it won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for its contribution to the live recording of “Mahler: Symphony No. 8, 'Symphony of A Thousand,'” conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, featuring Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Children’s Chorus and Pacific Chorale.

The choir has performed with such leading orchestras as the Boston Symphony, National Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Musica Angelica, among others. In addition to receiving national accolades, Pacific Chorale has garnered tremendous international acclaim. In July 2023, the chorus completed its first international tour in seven years with appearances in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom in collaboration with Bath Philharmonica, Free State Orchestra of Bavaria, and Bournemouth Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Previous tours have taken the choir to 19 countries in Europe, South America, and Asia, including engagements with the London Symphony, Munich Symphony, L’Orchestre Lamoureux and L’Orchestre de St-Louis-en-l’Île of Paris, National Orchestra of Belgium, China National Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Estonian National Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina, among others.

Deeply committed to making choral music accessible to everyone, the organization has a discography of 14 self-produced recordings and an extensive collection of free digital offerings. Among other artistic highlights, Pacific Chorale’s “The Wayfaring Project,” an original concert film conceived and conducted by Istad and produced during the pandemic, will be streamed through December 1, 2024 on pbssocal.org, kcet.org and the PBS app, reaching audiences around the globe. Pacific Chorale also places significant emphasis on choral music education, providing after-school vocal programs for elementary school students, a choral summer camp for high school students, and an annual community-wide singing event at Segerstrom Center for the Arts. www.pacificchorale.org