Eric Nelson is director of choral studies at Emory, where he conducts the Emory Concert Choir and the Emory University Chorus. He also teaches graduate Choral Conducting, Methods, and Literature. In addition, Nelson is artistic director of the Atlanta Master Chorale, a professional chamber choir specializing in sacred a cappella repertoire, and the minister of music at the historic 2nd-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. He has degrees in voice and conducting from Houghton College, Westminster Choir College, and Indiana University.
Nelson has conducted choirs throughout North America and Europe, including performances in London; Rome; Krakow; Berlin; Leipzig; Prague; Moscow; Washington, D.C.; Carnegie Hall; Lincoln Center; and the Sydney Opera House. In spring 2015, Nelson was visiting professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
His ensembles have been praised for their ability to combine a high level of technical precision with warmth of musical expression. They are also renowned for singing repertoire from various styles. In summer 2015, the Atlanta Master Chorale sang for the convention of the American Guild of Organists and the Emory Concert Choir performed with the Rolling Stones at Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field.
Nelson has conducted choirs at seven American Choral Directors Association conventions, including the Concert Choir’s performance at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall for the National Convention in 2011 and the Atlanta Master Chorale’s performance at the Southern Regional Convention 2014. The Atlanta Master Chorale was was awarded the “Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence” by Chorus America as well as the “Prudential Leadership Award” from BoardSource.
Nelson’s compositions have been sung by choirs throughout the United States, including performances for the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and the American Guild of Organists, and for numerous churches, colleges, and universities. Nelson is the editor of the “Atlanta Master Chorale Choral Series,” a division of Morningstar Music Publishers. His compositions are also published by Colla Voce, Augsburg Fortress, and ECS.