Symphony Hall Online Exhibits

Andris Nelsons and the BSO: Ten Years and Counting!

The fifteenth music director since the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s founding in 1881—and the youngest conductor to hold the title with the orchestra in over 100 years at the time of his appointment to the position—Mr. Nelsons was the first Latvian-born conductor to assume the post of BSO Music Director.

An internationally acclaimed conductor, Andris Nelsons took on the role of Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the 2014-15 Symphony Hall season. Named Musical America’s 2018 Artist of the Year, Andris Nelsons has re-established the orchestra’s international touring tradition, led the orchestra in a multiple Grammy award-winning cycle of the symphonies of Shostakovich on Deutsche Grammophon, and created a unique partnership between the BSO and the historic Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig, bringing the audiences of Boston and Leipzig multi-dimensional programming spotlighting the culture and musical gifts of these two great orchestras and the cities they call home.

The orchestra's composition has also changed significantly under Nelsons' direction. Twenty-six musicians of the BSO were appointed during his tenure, which represents 1/4 of the current orchestra. The BSO also launched its Resident Fellowship Program during the 2022-2023 season, which places early-career musicians from historically underrepresented backgrounds within the ranks of the orchestra to receive mentoring and performance opportunities alongside BSO musicians. Nelsons also named the first new concertmaster in the last 40 years, and presided over the appointments of principal cello, principal flute, and principal horn, among other positions. In January 2024, he was named Head of Conducting at Tanglewood, reflecting his role in training the next generation of conductors.

Boston Common Magazine article featuring Andris Nelsons’ new appointment as Music Director of the BSO, 2013

Photograph by Hilary Scott

Andris and the BSO: Highlights and International Tours

March 17, 2011

Program for March 17, 2011 concert at Carnegie Hall, with substitute guest conductor Andris Nelsons' biography

Makes guest-conducting debut with the BSO in March 2011 as an emergency substitute for James Levine at Carnegie Hall.
July 14, 2012

Andris Nelsons leading the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra and Anne-Sophie Mutter at the Tanglewood 75 Gala Concert on July 14th, 2012
Photograph by Hilary Scott

Tanglewood debut at the Tanglewood 75th anniversary concert.
January 31, 2013

Symphony Hall debut, conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
May 2013

BSO names Nelsons as its 15th music director effective the 2014-2015 Season. He holds the position Music Director Designate in the 2013-2014 season.
September 27, 2014

Autographed program book for Andris Nelsons’ inaugural concert as BSO Music Director on September 27, 2014

Conducts his first concert as BSO Music Director.
August/September 2015

Andris Nelsons and the BSO perform in the Kölner Philharmonie in Cologne, Germany on September 4, 2015
Photograph by Marco Borggreve

First tour as BSO Music Director: BSO European Festivals Tour, August 22-September 5, 2015 to London, Salzburg, Vienna, Lucerne, Milan, Paris, Köln, and Berlin.
September 2015

BSO-GHO players outside Symphony Hall on October 28, 2019
In recognition of the partnership between the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Germany and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the GHO performed in Symphony Hall under the baton of Andris Nelsons on October 29, 2019. The day before that concert, the BSO and GHO held a joint rehearsal under Nelsons and took a group photo in front of the Hall.
Photograph by Robert Torres

Leizig Gewandhaus Orchestra announces the appointment of Nelsons as its next Gewandhauskapellmeister, effective with the 2017-2018 season.
May 2016

BSO European Tour, May 3-12, 2016 to Frankfurt, Essen, Leipzig, Dresden, Munich, Vienna, Hamburg, and Luxembourg.
March 2017

Two concerts in Canada (Montreal and Toronto) on March 4-5, 2017.
October 1, 2017

Thomas Wilkins, Andris Nelsons, and Keith Lockhart at a free concert for the community in Franklin Park, Dorchester, October 1, 2017
Photograph by Aram Boghosian

Conducts alongside Thomas Wilkins and Keith Lockhart in a free concert for the community in Franklin Park, a precursor to Concert for the City events at Symphony Hall.
November 2017

BSO Japan Tour, November 3-7, 2017 to Nagoya, Osaka, Kawasaki, and Tokyo.
September 2018

BSO European Tour, September 2-17, 2018 to London, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna, Lucerne, Paris, and Amsterdam.
February 2020

A planned BSO tour to Asia in February 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. In response, the BSO holds its first Concert for the City on February 16, 2020.
September 2022

Susan W. and Stephen D. Paine BSO Resident Fellowship Program is launched with the program's first two members: Leonardo Vásquez Chacón (viola) and Andres Vela (bass)
Resident Fellowship Program
November 2022

Andris Nelsons conducts the BSO on tour in Yokohama, Japan on November 9, 2022
Photograph by Fumiaki Fujimoto

BSO Japan Tour, November 9-15, 2022 to Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo.
May 7. 2023

Andris Nelsons conducts Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 with the BSO on May 7, 2023
Photograph by Robert Torres

Conducts Boston Mayor Michelle Wu in her BSO debut during the May 2023 Concert for the City.
August/September 2023

BSO European Tour, August 25-September 8, 2023 to London, Lucerne, Salzburg, Ljubljana, Cologne, Dortmund, Berlin, Hamburg, and Paris.
January 2024

Head of Conducting at Tanglewood is added to his title.
May 2024

Nathan Cole and Andris Nelsons after Cole's first rehearsal with the BSO, July 11, 2024
Nathan Cole’s first solo with the BSO in his new role as concertmaster was the violin solo in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade on July 12, 2024 at Tanglewood.
Photograph by Hilary Scott

Appoints the BSO's first new concertmaster in the last 40 years, Nathan Cole.
September 2024

BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons with Composer Chair Carlos Simon after the premiere of Simon's Festive Overture and Fanfare, September 19, 2024
Photograph by Michael Blanchard

Premieres a new commission by BSO Composer Chair Carlos Simon (Festive Overture and Fanfare) composed in honor of Nelsons' 10th anniversary as music director at the BSO’s Opening Weekend Gala.

During his tenure with the BSO, Nelsons has had a significant impact on the contemporary art form. Under his leadership, the BSO and Tanglewood Music Center have commissioned over 100 new works. In addition, Nelsons has conducted the BSO or TMCO in 22 world premieres and 13 U.S. premieres.