Nathan Brock
Henry St Clair
Rafi Gokay Wol
“[Nathan Brock] conducted with energy and verve, crispness and well-judged tempi, eliciting lovely sounds from the Royal Conservatory Orchestra”
Opera Canada, 2018
Nathan Brock is regarded as one of the most versatile conductors of his generation working widely in all disciplines – opera, concert and ballet – in his native Canada and in Europe.
Brock completed his conducting studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Zürich with Johannes Schlaefli in 2008. Other important influences came during his two summers as a conducting fellow at the Academy of Conducting, Aspen Music Festival, from David Zinman and at the Lucerne Festival from Bernard Haitink, as well as in masterclasses in Finland with Jorma Panula.
Brock began his career in 2009 as assistant conductor with the Montreal Symphony and shortly thereafter was promoted to Resident Conductor. During his 5‑season tenure, he was instrumental in establishing the orchestra in their new hall La Maison Symphonique and was recognized with multiple awards for his programming, concerts and outreach activity by the Quebec, Ontario and Canadian arts councils respectively. During this period, he performed with the orchestra over 125 times and shared the stage with many renowned artists, such as Maxim Vengerov and Sir Stephen Hough.
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In 2015, he returned to Europe to join the music staff at the Hamburgische Staatsoper as Kapellmeister. During his four seasons in Hamburg, he conducted an extensive repertoire ranging from popular revivals such as L’Elisir d’Amore, Il Barbieri di Siviglia, Le Nozze di Figaro, Hänsel und Gretel, La Belle Hélène and Eugene Onegin, to new productions such as Erzittre, Zauberflöte and Sweep. He also began his collaboration with the legendary choreographer John Neumeier and the Hamburg Ballet performing new ballets Eleonora Duse, Anna Karenina as well as revivals of Giselle, Chopin Dances, Don Quixote, Kameliendame, Liliom and Illusionen — wie Schwanensee.
Since jumping into a performance of the Nutcracker with Canada’s National Ballet in 2011, he has maintained a strong relation with the company leading them regularly in revivals as well as in new productions such as Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet and Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
As guest he has performed with Orchestre National d’Ile de France, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Edmonton Symphony, Orchestre National Pays de la Loire, Symphony Nova Scotia, Victoria Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Filarmonica di Torino, Neubrandenburger Philharmonie and in theaters such as the Komische Oper Berlin, Aalto Theater Essen, the Royal Swedish Ballet, National Ballet of Japan, Norwegian National Ballet.
Brock recently recorded the world premiere of the opera BOUND, by Canadian composer Kevin Lau, with Toronto Symphony Orchestra (streaming on ATG) and the film Anna Karenina with Hamburg Ballet (released on DVD and broadcasting on Arte/Medici). During his time with Montreal Symphony Orchestra his performances were broadcast on the CBC/Radio Canada and his work as associate producer can still be heard on SONY/Analekta recordings with Kent Nagano.
Upcoming performances include debuts with the Royal Ballet, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Orquesta Filarmonica de Concepcion, a tour with Dutch National Ballet, return engagements with Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and in Hamburg with the opera and ballet.
In addition to his accomplishments as a musician he also has a keen interest in history, with a degree in History and International Relations from the University of Toronto. During the Covid-19 lockdowns he distinguished himself by winning the Graduating Fellowship in the Executive MBA class of 2021 at the Rotmann School of Management, Canada’s premier business school. This path has lead him to consult internationally for a broad variety of start-ups pursuing public offerings on Canadian venture exchanges.
“Last but certainly not least, I want to single out the work from the pit, under the direction of young Canadian conductor Nathan Brock, who is now Kapellmeister at the Hamburg State Opera, one of the “A” houses in Germany. Given his important job there, a staple such as Die Fledermaus is I’m sure something he knows like the back of his hand. It showed last evening, when he conducted with energy and verve, crispness and well-judged tempi, eliciting lovely sounds from the Royal Conservatory Orchestra – bravi tutti!”
