Alexander Shelley

Alexander Gordon Shelley (born 8 October 1979) is an English conductor. He is the music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, principal associate conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Artistic and Music Director of Artis—Naples and the Naples Philharmonic and Artistic and Music Director Designate of Pacific_Symphony.

Alexander Shelley
Alexander Shelley
Background information
Birth name	Alexander Gordon Shelley
Born	(1979-10-08) 8 October 1979 (age 45) London, England
Genres	Classical
Occupation	Conductor
Instrument(s)	Cello, piano
Years active	2005–present
Website	alexandershelley.com

Background

The son of the pianists Howard Shelley and Hilary Macnamara, Shelley learned piano from his mother and cello from his grandmother.^[1] In 1992, he won a music scholarship to Westminster School from The Hall School Hampstead. He studied cello with Timothy Hugh, Steven Doane and Johannes Goritzki at the Royal College of Music and at the Robert Schumann Hochschule, Düsseldorf respectively.^[2] Master-classes with Mstislav Rostropovich, Janos Starker and Aldo Parisot led him to France, Italy and North America. He was a member of the World Orchestra for Peace during the 2003 tour with Valery Gergiev. He studied conducting with Professor Thomas Gabrisch^[2] in Düsseldorf and worked closely with Yan Pascal Tortelier as his assistant conductor, among others with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Early career

In 2001,^[2] while still studying in Düsseldorf, he founded the Schumann Camerata, a chamber orchestra with whom he subsequently performed over 80 concerts, including a substantial tour of Russia, with performances in Moscow, Kazan, Simbirsk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd and Astrachan.^[3] In 2005, he won first prize in the 2005 Leeds Conductors Competition, with the press describing him as "the most exciting and gifted young conductor to have taken this highly prestigious award. His conducting technique is immaculate, everything crystal clear and a tool to his inborn musicality."^[4] In the same year, Shelley conceived the "440Hz" project, a series of concerts involving prominent German television and stage personalities, to attract young adults to the concert hall.^[2] Guest artists have included Konrad Beikircher, Götz Alsmann Band, Wise Guys (band), Blank & Jones, BASTA, Ensemble Six, Miki, Curse, Reen, Mellow Mark, Ono, Chima, Marlies Petersen and Ralf Bauer.^[5]

In 2009, Shelley became Artistic Director of the Zukunftslabor project of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen^[6] with whom he went on to win the 2012 Echo Klassik award in the category of Youth Engagement.^[7]

Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra

In September 2009, Shelley was named the youngest ever Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, with an initial contract of four years. In 2011, his contract was extended to 2017.^[8]

During his tenure the orchestra dramatically increased their international touring, travelling to China, Italy, the Czech Republic and Austria.^[9] Live recordings of their performances in Vienna's Musikverein and Prague's Smetana Hall were released on Colosseum Records.

For nine consecutive years Shelley conducted and presented Nuremberg's ‘Klassik Open Air’ concerts - Europe's largest annual classical concerts - performing to a combined audience of over 500,000. His final concert was attended by over 80,000 people.^[10]

He concluded his Nuremberg tenure at the close of the 2016–2017 season.^[11]

Shelley's first album for Deutsche Grammophon, with Daniel Hope and the Stockholm Philharmonic, was released in September 2014. Shelley's second album for Deutsche Grammophon, a recording of an expanded version of Peter and the Wolf with Germany's National Youth Orchestra featuring Die Toten Hosen singer Campino (in the German version) and rock singer Alice Cooper (in the English version), was awarded the Echo Klassik prize in 2016.^[12]

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

In January 2015, after several years of collaborations as a guest conductor, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra named Shelley its principal associate conductor, curating an annual series in London's Cadogan Hall, as well as touring nationally and internationally with the orchestra.^[13]

Shelley has focused on a variety of themes in his Cadogan Hall programming, including:

2015/ 2016 season: ‘Paris to New York’, celebrating the wide variety of styles and influences on the transatlantic musical output of the 1920s and 1930s.^[14] 2016/ 2017 season: ‘Symphonic Soundscapes’, exploring the music of Sibelius and Prokofiev on the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution.^[15] 2017/ 2018 season: ‘Myths and Fairytales’, which featured the many scores that have taken inspiration from the literature of myths and fairytales.^[16] 2018/2019 season: ‘Seeking New Horizons’, a series of concerts that looks at the influence of immigration on the music of the last 150 years.^[17] 2019/2020 season: 'Composer 360', exploring musical influences and relationships that inspired great composers.^[18]

National Arts Centre Orchestra

In October 2013, the NACO announced the appointment of Shelley as its youngest ever Music Director, succeeding Pinchas Zukerman as of the 2015–2016 season, with an initial contract of 4 years.^[19][2][20] In 2018, the NAC Orchestra announced an extension of Shelley's contract to 2023. In 2022, a further contract extension through 2026 was announced. ^[21] In May 2025, the NAC Orchestra announced that Shelley is to conclude his tenure as its music director.^[22]

Creative projects during his tenure have included the commissioning of "Life Reflected", a multi-media exploration of the lives of four Canadian women (Rita Joe, Roberta Bondar, Alice Munro and Amanda Todd)^[23] and ENCOUNT3RS, a set of three new ballets in collaboration with the National Ballet of Canada, Ballet BC and Alberta Ballet Company.^[24] The seven new scores that Shelley and the NAC Orchestra commissioned for these projects were recorded on the Analekta label in 2016 and 2017 respectively.^[25]

For two years running, works commissioned and recorded by Shelley and the NAC Orchestra won the Juno Award in the Classical Composition of the Year category, with Jocelyn Morlock winning in 2018 for her work 'My Name is Amanda Todd' from NAC Orchestra's Life reflected album, and Ana Sokolovic winning in 2019 for 'Golden Slumbers Kiss Your Eyes' from the NAC Orchestra's album Bounds of our Dreams.^[26]

Shelley has led two major tours with the NAC Orchestra. In 2017, Shelley and the NAC Orchestra undertook a cross-country tour of Canada in celebration of Canada's 150th anniversary.^[27] In the spring of 2019, Shelley led the NAC Orchestra on a landmark European tour in celebration of the National Arts Centre's 50th Anniversary. Over 17 days, they travelled to Saffron-Walden, London, Paris, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Gothenburg.^[28] The tour marked the first international performances of the NAC Orchestra's flagship Life Reflected project. Entitled CROSSINGS, the tour included eight concerts featuring four internationally renowned Canadian soloists: Jan Lisiecki, James Ehnes, Erin Wall and David D Q Lee. Each concert included at least one major work by a Canadian composer, in addition to learning activities and community events. In April 2022, Shelley led the orchestra on tour to Carnegie Hall with a programme entitled 'Truth in our Time'. The tour concerts included the world premiere of Philip Glass's 13th Symphony, commissioned by Shelley and the NAC in memory of the life of ABC News anchor Peter Jennings.

Shelley has a close relationship with Germany's National Youth Orchestra (Bundesjugendorchester), having led them on three tours of Germany and international tours to France, Canada and Africa. In November 2018 the orchestra sat side by side with the National Arts Centre Orchestra for a performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1.^[29] In the summer of 2019 Shelley led the Bundesjugendorchester on a tour of Germany and Africa.

Shelley has conducted over 40 world premiere performances.

United States career

In April 2023, Shelley was announced as Artistic Director and Music Director of Artis-Naples, home of The Baker Museum and the Naples Philharmonic. In a role which expands on his predecessor Andrey Boreyko, Shelley is to provide artistic leadership for the Naples Philharmonic, as well as the entire multidisciplinary organization, which includes visual Arts, Naples International Film Festival, jazz, pops, dance and broadway.^[30]

In November 2024, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Shelley as its next music director, effective with the 2026-2027 season, with an initial contract of five years. He is to hold the title of music director-designate for the 2025-2026 season.^[31]

Opera

Shelley's professional opera conducting debut was for Royal Danish Opera in 2008, conducting a production of The Merry Widow. He has since led productions of Gounod's Romeo et Juliette (Royal Danish Opera), Mozart's Cosi fan tutte (Opéra national de Montpellier),^[32] two separate productions of Marriage of Figaro (Opera North and National Arts Centre),^[33] La Bohème (Opera Lyra),^[34] Louis Riel (Canadian Opera Company/ National Arts Centre)^[35] Don Giovanni (National Arts Centre) and Tosca (Tyrolean State Theatre)

Personal life, awards, and philanthropy

Alexander Shelley and Zoe Shelley at the NAC Gala

Shelley and his wife Zoe, a personal trainer and fitness model,^[1] were married in July 2011 at St Paul's Church, Knightsbridge. They have two sons, Sasha Felix Shelley, born in Ottawa on August 25, 2018, and Leo Arlen Shelley, born in Ottawa on June 6, 2021.^[36]

The President of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier awarded Alexander Shelley the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 'in recognition of his exceptional achievements and profound impact on the international classical music community as well as his dedicated efforts to engage and inspire younger audiences.' The award was presented to Shelley during an official ceremony by the German Ambassador in Ottawa, Canada, on July 12, 2023.^[37]

Along with Angela Hewitt and Kellylee Evans, Shelley is one of the current OrKidstra Ambassadors.^[38]

Discography

• 2010: Nürnberger Symphoniker Live in Prag (Nürnberger Symphoniker and Oliver Triendl on Colosseum Records)
• 2011: Nürnberger Symphoniker Live in Wien (Nürnberger Symphoniker on Colosseum Records)
• 2014: Escape to Paradise (Stockholm Philharmonic and Daniel Hope on Deutsche Grammophon)
• 2015: Brahms Violin Concerto/ Double Concerto (Nürnberger Symphoniker, Eric Schumann, Mark Schumann on Berlin Classics)
• 2015: Peter and the Wolf in Hollywood (Bundesjugendorchester, Alice Cooper on Deutsche Grammophon) (ECHO Klassik 2016)
• 2017: Life Reflected (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2017: Encount3rs (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2018: New Worlds (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2018: Bounds of our Dreams (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2019: American Recorder Concertos (Copenhagen Philharmonic, Michala Petri)
• 2020: Clara, Robert, Johannes: Darlings of the Muses (National Arts Centre Orchestra, Gabriela Montero on Analekta)
• 2021: Clara, Robert, Johannes: Lyrical Echoes (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2023: Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2023: Clara, Robert, Johannes: Romance and Counterpoint (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2024: Truth in our Time (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)
• 2024: Two Orchestras, One Symphony (Hetu Symphony No. 5)(National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestre_Symphonique_de_Québec, Toronto_Mendelssohn_Choir on Analekta)
• 2025: Poema 1: Ad Astra (National Arts Centre Orchestra on Analekta)