Conductor

Nicholas Collon

Principal Conductor & Artistic Director, Aurora Orchestra

Nicholas Collon is establishing an enviable reputation as a commanding and inspirational interpreter in an exceptionally wide range of music. As Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of Aurora Orchestra he has promoted imaginative programming that integrates challenging repertoire of the 20th and 21st centuries with masterworks of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras. Highlights of the current and future season include the Philharmonia, London Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Spanish National Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Orchestre National d’Ile de France, Auckland Philharmonia, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne on Tour. Nicholas is the recipient of the 2012 Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent.

Nicholas Collon makes Spanish Debut

26 Mar 2013

Nicholas Collon makes his Spanish debut with the Spanish National Orchestra in Madrid on 7 April as part of a series celebrating the music of Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha.  Cerha’s ...

Nicholas Collon will appear in “The Sound and the Fury – A Century of Modern Music” on BBC4

07 Feb 2013

Nicholas Collon will appear in a new series “The Sound and the Fury – A Century of Modern Music” on BBC4 this February.  In the series, Nicholas conducts the London Sinfonietta in extracts...

Nicholas Collon makes Paris and Cardiff debuts

26 Nov 2012

Nicholas Collon will make his French debut with Orchestre National d’Île de France in a concert featuring music by Mozart, Tippett and Schubert at Paris’ Salle Gaveau on 6 December.  Please...

Glowing reviews for Nicholas Collons’ debut at ENO

08 Sep 2012

Nicholas Collon has received fantastic notices for his conducting of the spectacular David Hytner production of...

Nicholas Collon conducts Wallace & Gromit Prom: Musical Marvels!

24 Jul 2012

Nicholas Collon and Aurora Orchestra collaborated with the award-winning creators of Wallace & Gromit, Aardman Animation, for a very special BBC Prom including music by Stravinsky, Copland,...

Nicholas Collon awarded 2012 Critics Circle Music Award for exceptional young talent

08 Jun 2012

Congratulations to Nicholas Collon who has been awarded 2012 Critics Circle Music Award for exceptional young talent. Voting is carried out on the basis of an artist’s particular contribution to...

Nicholas Collon's German debut with the Munich Chamber Orchestra

03 May 2012

Nicholas Collon will make his German debut with the Munich Chamber Orchestra on 8 May at Munich’s Prinzregententheater as part of the Münchener Biennale.  Nicholas will be joined by Alina...

Nicholas Collon and Aurora Orchestra debut appearance at the Roundhouse

23 Feb 2012

Nicholas Collon and Aurora Orchestra make their debut appearance at Camden's legendary Roundhouse on Saturday 25 Feb: Love Song for the City journeys from violence and destruction to rebirth and...

Nicholas Collon BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall receives rave reviews

28 Jul 2011

Nicholas Collon’s Aurora orchestra joined the CBBC’s Horrible Histories cast, children’s choirs, and BBC Radio 3 presenter Louise Fryer for a sold out concert which interspersed new...

Nicholas Collon talks to MusicalCriticism.com about new approaches to music and his Aurora Orchestra

22 Jun 2011

Nicholas Collon has been interviewed by musicalcriticism.com, speaking about new approaches to music and his Aurora Orchestra. Read the interview in full below or...

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“Nicholas Collon drew immaculate performances from his players and yet the music was only one element of this ingeniously conceived cross-arts programme. Refreshing the repertoire and broadening appeal are imperative these days. Nobody does it better than Aurora.”

London Evening Standard (Aurora’s “Insomnia” LSO St Luke’s –five stars) - Mar 2013

“A born communicator as well as an innovative programmer and high-calibre interpreter of a wide range of repertoire”

Evening Standard London’s 1000 Most Influential People 2012 - Nov 2012

“…the starry debut of conductor Nicholas Collon. Best known for his work with the Aurora Orchestra, Collon’s work here maintained his characteristic lightness of touch, bringing out the pulsing offbeats of the Overture and bringing the same clarity of drama and swift pacing to the subsequent action.”

The New Statesman - Sep 2012

“In the pit, an auspicious presence: Nicholas Collon, kicking off the new season with his ENO house debut. The Magic Flute is no small ask, but he seemed nothing daunted; the pace never faltered and neither did the sparkle.”

Jessica Duchen - Sep 2012

“Making his ENO debut was the young Nicholas Collon who looks and conducts on the podium like Simon Rattle of decades ago. The two-an-a-half hours fled by and there never seemed a dull moment as it was an unpretentious, flexible, quick and light-textured account totally in keeping with what was happening on stage. The ever-reliable ENO Orchestra played typically well for him.”

Seen and Heard International - Sep 2012

“Making his house debut, conductor Nicholas Collon delivers a lovingly-crafted and joyous account of Mozart’s miraculous score.”

WhatsOnStage - Sep 2012

“Much of the excitement came from the pit. Nicholas Collon was making his ENO conducting debut and enticed well-paced, zestful playing from the orchestra.”

Fiona Maddocks, The Observer - Sep 2012

“But for real colour, listen to what Nicholas Collon conjures up from the ENO orchestra. This is an impressive house debut: Mozart’s score is teased out with impish delight, but never pushed too hard.”

Neil Fisher of The Times - Sep 2012

“Much of its success this time around lies in the conducting. Making his Coliseum debut, Nicholas Collon brings consistent flexibility and momentum to a reading that never for a moment hangs fire.. He also proves responsive to his singers, who together comprise a quality team.”

Guardian (debut at English National Opera) 9.12 - Sep 2012

“The London Sinfonietta’s performance, conducted by Nicholas Collon with poise, passion and precision, created a beguiling dance of breath and bow, with energies overlapping and interweaving in a design as subtle and complex as the filaments of a giant feather.”

The Times (London Sinfonietta George Benjamin Antara QEH) - May 2012

“Aurora’s chief conductor Nicholas Collon guided us through the major works with panache. In a slimfit configuration, what registered most was the superb individual playing — beautifully phrased woodwind in the Siegfried Idyll, and an earthy kick to an Appalachian Spring that felt, as it should, as if the group of musicians had just assembled to dream it up.”

The Times (Aurora Orchestra's Far, Far Away) - Mar 2012

“I was gripped from start to finish. And the music, ranging from Ives’s morose Adeste fideles to the Bach/Webern Ricercar a 6, and from Nancarrow’s seventh Study for Player Piano (on the real thing), to the slow movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, was performed to exquisite perfection. ”

The Times (Aurora Orchestra's Thriller:Automatic Writing) - Nov 2011

“It is hard to imagine performances more assured and expressive than these by Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra. One of the most ear-catching discs to come my way in a long time.”

BBC Music Magazine ('Seeing is Believing' CD Review) - Oct 2011

“And a suitably historic hurrah, too, for the Aurora Orchestra under Nicholas Collon – whether swinging along to the Stone Age Jazz Song or pounding away thrillingly in the Sacrificial Dance from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring the young orchestra showed just why it has made such a Henry VIII-sized impact on the UK concert scene. If they get invited back to perform the Rite in its entirety, I’ll be first in the queue.”

Classical-Music.com (Horrible Histories family Prom review) - Aug 2011

“In fact, it all made you feel as though you wished Collon and his Aurora Orchestra would simply take over for all the Proms. This was a truly life (and death) enhancing concert.”

The Times (Horrible Histories family Prom review) - Aug 2011

“The conductor Nicholas Collon had prepared his musicians faultlessly.”

The Guardian - Jul 2011

“As well as all the music enjoying the Sinfonietta players skills and devotion, in the three works he directed, Nicholas Collon, recently appointed as Assistant Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, impressed not only with his command of the pieces and his ability to obtain assured performances, for he also suggested that he was really enjoying what he was doing, his infectious enthusiasm a prime mover in the evening’s success of displaying the eclecticism of British music during the last decade.”

Classical Source - Jun 2011

“The CD is a wonderful calling card for Collon’s Aurora Orchestra. The CD lasts 73 minutes and 23 seconds and they dazzle in every one of them.”

The Times ('Seeing is Believing" CD review) - Jun 2011

“[Adams Chamber Symphony] needs playing, and conducting, of surpassing virtuosity. Collon's demeanour said it all: bendy body language combined with a razor-sharp stick technique. I only hope Adams, who says he's heard so many bad performances of his labyrinthine masterwork, gets to see and hear it.”

The Arts Desk - May 2011

“The symphonies were also very classy. No 27, with its teasing false endings and suave elegance, was full of sly exuberance, while No 31, "Paris", gleamed with hauteur and contrapuntal brilliance. There were a couple of shorter pieces, too – the Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, furtive yet noble, and the dark, obsessive Adagio and Fugue in C minor. Founding conductor Nicholas Collon, has the rare knack of combining self-deprecating charm with great intelligence.”

The Guardian - Mar 2011

“The music was played with exhilarating verve and alertness. The sound of the orchestra had a properly ceremonial swagger, yet this was no old-fashioned, heavyweight stomp through Mozart. Rhythms were clean cut, woodwind solos elegantly shaped and textures beautifully pellucid. This is an ensemble talented and ambitious enough to wrench the initiative from more established chamber orchestras. It’s a generational turnover, and very healthy for musical life.”

The Times (Aurora Orchestra at King’s Place, “Mozart Unwrapped” series) - Jan 2011

“Led by Nicholas Collon, the performances were excellent, enhanced if anything by the informal setting and cabaret-style seating.”

The Guardian (Zappa/Varèse/Boulez, London Sinfonietta) - Nov 2010

“Clear-headed, fresh thinking and a born leader, Collon should soon be casting his own aura over Britain’s major orchestras.”

The Times (Aurora Orchestra at LSO, St Luke’s) - Jul 2010

“Full of surreal pastiches, nightmarish scurrying, frightening eruptions, eerie treble voices and disorientating timbres, it is a highly impressive attempt (admirably conducted by Nicholas Collon) to express in aural terms the turmoil inside a mind that has become permanently unhinged from rational thought, or indeed from its own sense of self.”

The Times (Elena Langer’s The Lion's Face at the Theatre Royal, Brighton) - May 2010

“Collon remains, vigorously conducting fiery and pungent performances. You could grumble about the over-elaborate frenzy of John Adams's Son of Chamber Symphony, but never about the musicians' precision in mastering the score's bopping rhythms or stamina needed to run on the spot.”

The Times (Aurora Orchestra's 5th Birthday Concert at LSO St Luke's) - Mar 2010

“Man, what did we come here for?" came an inquiry nearby just before the conductor arrived. Minutes later, no answer was necessary. Add to the mix...Nicholas Collon's excellent, transparent conducting and the overall effect was exhilarating, and not a little humbling.”

The Guardian (Julian Phillips’ Knight Crew (Glyndebourne Opera)) - Mar 2010

“...this combined with a provocative and arresting staging to make Mahogany's double bill one of the most exciting and electrifying evenings I've spent at the opera in recent seasons....yet even this vibrant vocal quartet was upstaged by the brilliant playing of the Aurora Orchestra, conducted by Nicholas Collon, whose feel for Stravinsky's Russian colourings were beyond reproach.”

Opera Magazine (Walton’s The Bear and Stravinsky’s The Fox', Aurora Orchestra / Mahogany Opera) - Jul 2008

“It's been a remarkable success story. Founded just a little over three years ago, Aurora Orchestra, a sparky, young ensemble specialising in new repertoire and chamber arrangements of symphonies has already reached the threshold of big-name status. The current conductor is the name-to-watch firecracker Nicholas Collon.”

Metro (Debussy/Muhly/Byrd/Ives, Aurora Orchestra) - Jan 2008

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Nicholas Collon is establishing an enviable reputation as a commanding and inspirational interpreter in an exceptionally wide range of music.  As founder and Principal Conductor of Aurora Orchestra he has promoted imaginative programming that integrates challenging repertoire from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries with masterworks of the Classical and Romantic eras.  Nicholas and Aurora were winners of Best Ensemble at the 2011 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards.  In addition to his work with Aurora, he is increasingly in demand as a guest conductor with other ensembles in the UK and abroad.  He is the recipient of the 2012 Critics’ Circle Award for Exceptional Young Talent and was Assistant Conductor to Vladimir Jurowski at the London Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2011/12 season.

Having made a very successful debut at the BBC Proms in 2010, Nicholas was re-invited to both 2011 and 2012 with Aurora Orchestra and with the London Sinfonietta and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.  With Aurora Nicholas leads the New Moves series, a unique three-year cross-arts residency at LSO St Luke’s which has included critically acclaimed collaborations with capoeira, film, theatre, tango, and literature. With innovative programming, one recent concert Jealous Guy juxtaposed composers, Purcell, Piazzolla, Lennon, Mahler and Bernstein.  Nicholas and Aurora were part of the Mozart Unwrapped season at Kings Place and in Brahms Unwrapped  in 2012.  Also at Kings Place, a concert featuring the works of Nico Muhly launched the CD Seeing is Believing on Decca to critical acclaim.  Nicholas and Aurora recently collaborated with Ian Bostridge and Angelika Kirchschlager in performances of Satie’s Socrate and Britten’s Phaedra at the Wigmore Hall

Last season Nicholas made his debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra,  London Mozart Players, Northern Sinfonia and the Munich Chamber Orchestra at the Munich Biennale.  With London Sinfonietta Nicholas conducted works by George Benjamin and Ligeti and he made his concert debut with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in a programme of Philip Glass and Richard Strauss. 

In 12/13 he has reinvitations to the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, London Mozart Players, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Northern Sinfonia and will make further debuts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, Spanish National Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Ile de France, Bournemouth Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Academy of Ancient Music, Auckland Philharmonia and Ensemble Intercontemporain. In the 13/14 season he will debut with Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre de Lyon, Danish National Chamber Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony and the Ulster Orchestra, NFM Filharmonia Wroclaw, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and he will making a recording for Bavarian Radio with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.

Nicholas will make his debuts with English National Opera The Magic Flute, Welsh National Opera Jonathan Harvey’s Wagner Dream during the 12/13 season and also make his debut with Glyndebourne on Tour in the autumn of 2013.  Other operatic highlights have included a special project at Glyndebourne conducting a new work, The Knight Crew by Julian Phillips which featured in a major BBC Two series.   With the Opera Group he has conducted the first performances of Elena Langer’s The Lion’s Face and Luke Bedford’s Seven Angels (the latter with Birmingham Contemporary Music Group) including performances at the Linbury Theatre at the Royal Opera House.

May 2013