Nancy Nelson
Q: When did you start playing?
A: I started piano at the age of 3 and the oboe at 14.
Q: What made you choose your instrument?
A: I started clarinet in Grade 9, feeling that it really wasn’t the instrument for me. When I attended the Nelson High School Senior Band Spring Concert that same year, Kitty Noble was playing the oboe and I loved the sound of it. It was her nice playing that got me hooked. I asked my music teacher if I could take an oboe home for the summer, and that was it!!
Q: What is your most memorable HPO experience?
A: My most memorable experience was when Victor Feldbrill and the HPO commissioned John Weinzweig to write an English Horn Concerto for me.
Q: What kind of things do you like to do when you’re not playing?
A: I very much enjoy talking to my daughters, who are both living far away from me. I enjoy teaching my music students and being both Music Director and organist at my church. I also love to read ‘strange’ books, ride my bike, and watch a few ‘favourite’ TV shows.
Q: Who is your favourite composer to play or listen to?
A: Possibly Debussy and Ravel, since their music is so emotional to me.
Q: Favourite book? Movie?
A: I love both science fiction and vampire movies. Weird stuff!!
Q: Do you have a secret indulgence?
A: As with most people, I love to go to the Caribbean whenever I can.
Q: Who was your hero when you were 10? Who is your hero now?
A: I think Mrs. Hilton was my hero when I was 10. She was my school teacher, who took great amounts of time with her students. My hero now is my friend, Kim Michor. She has been wheelchair bound for 17 years due to a serious car accident and has a wonderful family; two daughters with her husband. She has an attitude about life that is second to none.
