Nicolas Ellis
“This young chameleon musician is a phenomenon.”
– Christophe Huss, Le Devoir
Nicolas Ellis has been Music Director of the Orchestre national de Bretagne since 2024 and is the Artistic Director and Founder of the Orchestre de l’Agora, which he has led in Montreal since 2013. Described by Le Devoir as “a born conductor, a conductor of instinct” and “a phenomenon,” Ellis is known for an approach that combines musical intensity, curiosity, and a strong sense of engagement, spanning the core symphonic repertoire, new music, and projects that bring music into the community.
His international career takes him to major symphony orchestras across Europe and North America. During the 2026–27 season, he will make debuts with the Warsaw Philharmonic, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, San Francisco Symphony, and Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. He will also return to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s—making his Carnegie Hall debut with the ensemble—as well as the Symphoniker Hamburg and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent engagements include the Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
Critics have praised the vitality of his interpretations, noting that “he concocts a crackling broth of multiple ingredients, putting his finger on the discoveries of the writing” – Opera Online, as well as his ability to devise programmes that are “bright, useful, original, sensitive and moving” – Le Devoir. This pursuit of powerful and distinctive musical experiences is at the heart of his work with the Orchestre national de Bretagne. Ellis brings together the great symphonic repertoire with artists and diverse musical traditions, as demonstrated by his collaboration with the Théâtre national de Bretagne on Mendelssohn’s complete incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Arthur Nauzyciel and performed with young actors from the TNB, as well as his collaboration with Quebec fiddlers invited to perform with the orchestra. He also conducted the ONB for the 33rd Victoires de la musique classique, broadcast to nearly one million viewers, alongside Bryn Terfel, Sabine Devieilhe, and Julie Fuchs.
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At the ONB, Ellis also places particular emphasis on new music and education. Recent and upcoming projects include a clarinet concerto by Iranian composer Golfam Khayam with clarinetist Pierre Génisson, a youth production inspired by Jules Verne’s Journey to the Centre of the Earth, featuring music by Franco-Argentine composer Ezequiel Spucches, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in a project bringing together the ONB and Orchestre de Picardie. During the 2026–27 season, he will conduct the orchestra from the pit for a new production of Così fan tutte at the Opéra de Rennes, directed by Phia Ménard.
In Montreal, his work with the Orchestre de l’Agora reflects the same commitment to making the orchestra a place of creation and discovery, of connection with new audiences, and of social engagement. Its Gala de la Terre, presented as part of the opening concert of the Festival de Lanaudière, brought together Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Katia Makdissi-Warren’s Chorus Nunavik, featuring Inuit throat singers Lydia Etok and Nina Segalowitz. The event also raised significant funds in support of Nature Conservancy of Canada.
The Orchestre de l’Agora will release Le Récital des anges, an album devoted to Schubert and Métis Canadian composer Ian Cusson, featuring mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska and soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais. Alongside its concert-hall activities, the orchestra continues to engage audiences beyond traditional concert settings, including through a monthly concert series at the Montreal Detention Centre, performances in healthcare facilities across the city, and a new music project with adolescents facing mental health challenges.
Across his engagements in Europe and North America, as well as his work in Brittany and Montreal, Nicolas Ellis champions a vision of conducting grounded in encounters with composers, artists, and audiences, with a commitment to making every concert a vibrant, generous, and meaningful experience.
