Welcome to the website of composer Jordan Nelson.
(Scroll down for more information and links.)
(Scroll down for more information and links.)
Media Samples
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About Jordan Nelson (he/him) is a composer and educator based in Southern California. Jordan's musical projects are often driven by collaboration, and his output ranges from abstract concert works to ambient electronic music. Jordan's compositions have been performed by HOCKET, Viano Quartet, Lucy Fitz Gibbon and Argus Quartet, Lina Bahn and Matt Haimovitz, Thomas Kotcheff, Clara Kim, Diana Newman, Jack Cimo, NOW ensemble, MoVE (Modern Violin Ensemble), Contemporaneous, Orchestra 2001, Yale Schola Cantorum, and WomenSing, among others.
Jordan's recent projects include a work for string quartet commissioned by the Viano Quartet (Join), a piece for classical guitar and electronics written for and in collaboration with Jack Cimo (I Dream I Was Underwater), and a new electronic music project (Color Perception E.P.). Other notable works include a large-scale project for soprano, string quartet, and projected images (Tender Buttons) based on poetry by Gertrude Stein, with original artwork by Morgan Thomas Shankweiler, and a collection of pieces for solo piano based upon the Great American Songbook (Songbook for piano) created in collaboration with Thomas Kotcheff. Jordan is also a passionate educator, and in addition to teaching private composition lessons, he has served on the faculty for multiple young composer programs and workshops in Southern California. At the college level, Jordan teaches at The Colburn Conservatory of Music and at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He has previously served on the faculty of the West Chester University Wells School of Music, the USC Thornton School of Music, and Yale University. Jordan earned his D.M.A. and M.M. in Composition from the USC Thornton School of Music, and he received his B.A. in Music from Yale University. Originally from Swarthmore, PA, Jordan lives in the Los Angeles area. |
Recent Recording Session: This past August, Thomas Kotcheff, Sarah Gibson, Louis Ng, and I combined forces once again to record the third set of videos for the Songbook project. We can't wait to share the new videos sometime soon.
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Recent Premiere: The Viano Quartet presented the world premiere of Join as part of their recital and the Curtis Institute of Music in December of 2022.
For more information on the concert, head to the following link. |
New Release: Color Perception E.P. is a new set of four tracks of spacious electronic music. Take a listen on bandcamp.
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New Release: Duo Apollon's recording of Three Sea Shanties is available on streaming platforms and youtube. The recording features album art by Morgan Thomas Shankweiler.
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