Erik Nielsen
American conductor Erik Nielsen (Iowa, *1977) has extended his current three-year contract as chief conductor of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra in the Spanish Basque country for another three years, through the 2010-21 season.
Nielsen was appointed in Bilbao in 2015. He took up the position of Music Director of Theater Basel from the 16/17 season. At the Frankfurt Opera he was Kapellmeister from 2008 to 2012. Prior to moving to Frankfurt, he played harp in the Berlin Philharmonic as a member of its Orchester-Akademie. He studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and received his bachelor’s degree as a double-major in oboe and harp at The Juilliard School in New York.
