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In 2017/18 Collon conducts subscription weeks for the first time with the Bamberg Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony and Salzburg Mozarteumorchester, and returns to the Hallé Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and CBSO. He conducts the Guerzenich Orchester in his first concerts as Principal Guest at the Cologne Philharmonie and in the pit at Oper Koeln (Don Giovanni). His plans with the Residentie Orkest this season include concerts in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and at Rotterdam De Doelen, a televised concert from The Hague, and a tour of Germany. In December 2017 he made his debut with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, jumping in at short notice to conduct them at the Paris Philharmonie.
Under Collon’s artistic direction, Aurora Orchestra have forged an enviable reputation in the UK and increasingly abroad. As Resident Orchestra at Kings Place they are midway through a five-year cycle of the complete Mozart Piano Concertos, and as Associate Orchestra at the South Bank Centre they are reinventing the concert format with their ‘Orchestral Theatre’ Series. They have appeared at the BBC Proms every year since 2010, often performing entire symphonies from memory. They increasingly tour internationally, giving concerts in summer 2017 at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw (Robeco festival), Berlioz Festival Cote St Andre and Ascona Festival, with main season appearances at the Cologne Philharmonie and in the new hall on Ile Seguin in Paris.
Collon has recorded two critically acclaimed recordings with Aurora for Warner Classics: Road Trip featuring music by Ives, Copland, Adams and Nico Muhly (winning the prestigious 2015 Echo Klassik Award for ‘Klassik Ohne Grenzen’) and Insomnia with music by Britten, Brett Dean, Ligeti, Gurney and Lennon & McCartney. He has also recorded Haydn and Ligeti with the Danish Radio Symphony, Britten and Delius with the Philharmonia, and several discs of contemporary repertoire with the Hallé Orchestra.
He has conducted over 200 new works, including the UK or world premieres of works by Unsuk Chin, Phillip Glass, Colin Matthews, Nico Muhly, Olivier Messiaen, Krzysztof Penderecki and Judith Weir.
Opera productions have included The Magic Flute at English National Opera, Jonathan Harvey’s Wagner Dream at Welsh National Opera, and Rape of Lucretia for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, as well as Turn of the Screw at the Aldeburgh Festival with the Aurora Orchestra.
Born in London, Nicholas is a violist, pianist and organist by training, and studied as Organ Scholar at Clare College, Cambridge.
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2017/18 season / 504 words. Not to be altered without permission.