News 2013

May 2013 / Aurora Orchestra will perform a Late-Night Prom in the Royal Albert Hall at the 2013 BBC Proms, with a programme of American music including Frank Zappa's extraordinary 'Adventures of Greggery Peccary' and the UK premiere of Philip Glass' Symphony No.10.

News 2012

December 2012 / Nicholas makes his debut with Orchestre d'Ile de France at Salle Gaveau in Paris.

The Times reviews the 'almost belligerent brilliance' of Aurora's performance of a new reduced version of Mahler's First Symphony in November, and later in December a review of an all Brahms-concert at Kings Place; 'Aurora have taken well-known music by the neck and shaken it - and many perceptions will have been changed for ever.'

November 2012 / New concerts in 2013 announced, including debuts with Spanish National Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, and reinvitations to Northern Sinfonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

September 2012 / Reviews for Magic Flute at ENO:

'Much of its success this time around lies in the conducting. Making his Coliseum debut, Nicholas Collon brings consistent flexibility and momentum to a reading that never for a moment hangs fire.' The Guardian

'But for real colour, listen to what Nicholas Collon conjures up from the ENO orchestra. This is an impressive house debut: Mozart's score is teased out with impish delight, but never pushed too hard.' The Times

July 2012 / Nicholas conducted the Wallace and Gromit Prom at the Royal Albert Hall, which will be broadcast on Monday 27th August at 2.45pm, BBC1. Read reviews here.

June 2012 / Nicholas has been awarded one of three 2012 Critics' Circle Awards for Exceptional Young Talent. The Award will be presented on 13th July at Aurora Orchestra's concert in LSO St Luke's.

Nicholas appears on the front cover of Muso Magazine featuring an interview about his conducting career.

May 2012 / The Times reviews Nicholas' concert with London Sinfonietta featuring works by George Benjamin and Ligeti; 'conducted with poise, passion and precision.'

April 2012 / The BBC Proms announces its 2012 season, in which Nicholas will conduct three concerts; 29th July ('Wallace & Gromit Prom), 4th August (Inspire Composers Competition) and 18th August (Birmingham Contemporary Music Group).

Nicholas will make his debut appearance with English National Opera ('Magic Flute') in September 2012, and new concerts this season with Philharmonia Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra have been announced.

March 2012 / Aurora Orchestra's concert from LSO St Luke's on 13th March can be heard live on BBC Radio 3.

February 2012 / Nicholas and Aurora make their Roundhouse debut in the Reverb Festival; the performance is streamed live on the Guardian website.

News 2011

August 2011 / Aurora Orchestra's performance at the BBC Proms received rave reviews. The Times wrote; 'it made you feel as though you wished Collon and his Aurora Orchestra would simply take over for all the Proms. This was a truly life (and death) enhancing concert.' Read more reviews here.

Nicholas appeared on BBC Radio 3's In Tune to discuss his forthcoming Prom with the London Sinfonietta which will be broadcast on August 13th.

July 2011 / The Guardian writes a feature on Nicholas and Aurora Orchestra.

Review from Aurora's performance of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony in the Sunday Times; 'Nicholas Collon conducted a brilliantly impelled account of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.'

The Times writes a feature on Nicholas in anticipation of his appearances at the BBC Proms with Aurora Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta; Red-hot virtuosos - meet the new stars of the BBC Proms.

June 2011 / Nicholas is appointed Assistant Conductor to the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He will assist Vladimir Jurowski in a number of projects over the 2011/2 season, as well as conducting concerts with the orchestra. Read here for the full press release. The Arts Desk and BBC Music Magazine have written features about the appointment.

Aurora Orchestra's recording of works by Nico Muhly for Decca Classics is released on June 8th. Click here to read a 4-star review in the Independent, or this in the Times; 'The CD is a wonderful calling card for Collon's Aurora Orchestra. The CD lasts 73 minutes and 23 seconds, and they dazzle in every one of them.'

You can find out more about the disc on the album's website or order it from iTunes here.

May 2011 / Aurora Orchestra has won the Royal Philharmonic Society's 2011 Ensemble Award. Presented in association with BBC Radio 3, the RPS Awards are the highest recognition for live classical music in the UK. Read here for more details; the Telegraph also wrote a feature on Aurora's win here: 'But for me, the most pleasing moment of the night was to see the Ensemble award go to Aurora, a fabulous young chamber orchestra that in six years of existence has emerged as one of the most dynamic, innovative and open-minded groups of its kind.'

Aurora's concert of works by Nico Muhly, Hindemith, John Adams and Ives on May 7th was seen by thousands, as the first ever classical concert to be streamed live on the Guardian website. Read 4-star reviews in the Guardian, Telegraph ('Every concert they play is eye-catchingly original and shrewdly balanced' and Times ('a stonking performance').

April 2011 / The BBC Proms announces its 2011 season, in which Nicholas will conduct 3 concerts; 30th July (Family Prom), 6th August (Inspire Composers Competition) and 13th August (London Sinfonietta).

March 2011 / Dates have been released for performances of Luke Bedford's new opera, Seven Angels, which Nicholas will conduct with the Opera Group and Birmingham Contemporary Music group. The Guardian gives Aurora's Mozart concert with Rosemary Joshua a 4-star review. You can watch the last movement of Mozart's Linz Symphony from January's Kings Place concert here.

February 2011 / Aurora Orchestra announces the release in June 2011 of a recording of chamber orchestral works by American composer Nico Muhly for Decca Classics. Watch a film here which shows behind-the-scenes footage from the filming sessions, and interviews with Nicholas, Nico and the disc's producer, John Rutter.

January 2011 / Nicholas stepped in for an indisposed Sir Colin Davis to conduct the first in Aurora Orchestra's Mozart Unwrapped season at Kings Place, receiving critical acclaim from The Times and Guardian.

You can now vote for Nicholas to win the Times Breakthrough South Bank Sky Arts Award 2011. Click here from January 4-12 to cast your vote-the awards ceremony will be shown on Sky Arts 1 on January 25th at 9pm.

'To launch a new orchestra, Aurora, in the cut-throat musical marketplace that is London requires courage and conviction. To sustain it through five seasons, during which you programme everything from the Baroque sounds of Gabrieli and Lully to the avant-garde scores of Berio and Adams, shows brilliance as well as bravado.' (Richard Morrison, The Times)

Aurora Orchestra has released news of its 2011 season featuring Mozart concerts at Kings Place and the continuation of its New Moves Series at LSO St Luke's. Take a look at the brochure online.

December 2010 / Nicholas is the winner of the Classical Music Nomination for The Times Breakthrough Award 2011. Part of the South Bank Sky Arts Awards, the winner will be selected from a list of ten nominees, each from a different art form, to be voted for by the public. Voting opens on January 4th with the awards ceremony taking place on 25th January, broadcast on Sky Arts. More information is available here.

November 2010 / Nicholas made his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducting Emily Howard's 'Solar,' as well as a concert of Zappa, Boulez and Varese with the London Sinfonietta at Camden Roundhouse. Read the Guardian review here.

October 2010 / Aurora Orchestra recorded the chamber music of Nico Muhly for release on CD with Decca in 2011. Nicholas also conducted Stravinsky's 'Pulcinella' with the combined forces of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Sinfonietta.

September 2010 / New dates are announced for November: Nicholas will conduct works by Boulez, Varèse and Zappa with the London Sinfonietta at Camden Roundhouse, and a UBS Pioneers Commission with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall.

August 2010 / Nicholas made his BBC Proms debut to a sold-out Royal Albert Hall on August 30th. He co-presented the concert alongside Basil Brush and Radio 3 presenter Louise Fryer, receiving a 4-star review from Geoff Brown in The Times: 'Aurora Orchestra....sparkled in everything it touched, from Gabrieli's euphonious polyphony to hell-for-leather Shostakovich'. Click here to see photos taken at the Prom.

July 2010 / Richard Morrison picks Nicholas Collon as his Classical choice in The Times Arts Agenda 'Five to watch';

'Clear-headed, fresh-thinking and a born leader, Collon should soon be casting his own aura over Britain’s major orchestras.'

Read the full text here.

June 2010 / Autumn concerts announced, including a combined performance with London Sinfonietta and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Aurora Orchestra announces its Royal Albert Hall debut at the BBC Proms on August 30th. Nicholas will conduct the combined forces of Aurora and players from the National Youth Chamber Orchestra in a diverse programme, including Bernstein's 'Candide' Overture, the 2nd movement from Shostakovich's 10th Symphony, and excerpts from Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet'.

Nicholas will appear in 'Gareth goes to Glyndebourne' on BBC 2. The programme follows the chorus as it undertakes the performances of 'Knight Crew' which Nicholas conducted at Glyndebourne earlier in 2010. The first episode is due to be aired on June 17th.

May 2010 / Nicholas conducts performances of 'The Lion's Face' with the Opera Group, receiving a 4-star review in The Times. Read the full review here.

April 2010 / Aurora Orchestra is nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society Ensemble Award, alongside BBC Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Contemporary Group and London Sinfonietta.

March 2010 / Aurora Orchestra gave its 5th birthday concert at LSO St Luke's on March 19th, the inaugural performance in a new residency for the group at this venue. Read the Times review here ('fiery and pungent') and the Sunday Times here ('high points that will make you mad with joy'). Aurora's new website goes live on April 6th.

March 2010 / Nicholas conducted Mahler's 10th Symphony in the Deryck Cooke version; Classical Source called it 'A concert to remember.' Read the full review here.

March 2010 / Nicholas' debut at Glyndebourne receives 4-star reviews from the Independent, Guardian and Gramophone Magazine; The Guardian said; 'Add to the mix…Nicholas Collon's excellent, transparent conducting and the overall effect was exhilarating, and not a little humbling.' Read the full review here.

February 2010 / Nicholas is in rehearsals for the 'Knight Crew' at Glyndebourne. Read an article in the Spectator here about the rehearsal process.

January 2010 / Nicholas has been featured in a profile in Time Out magazine - http://bit.ly/8tNsPQ - and can be heard in an interview on Classic FM here.

January 2010 / BBC 2 have announced that the next installment of the hit series 'The Choir' will focus on Julian Philips' new opera 'The Knight Crew,' which Nicholas conducts in March 2010 at Glyndebourne. Gareth Malone will be Chorus Master for the youth chorus - find out more.

January 2010 / Later this month, Nicholas will conduct the Britten Sinfonia in music by young American composer Nico Muhly at the Camden Roundhouse, followed by concerts with Aurora Orchestra at Wigmore Hall and Kings Place.

December 2009 / Aurora Orchestra has published its 2010 Season Brochure, including a new series of concerts at LSO St Luke's Concert Hall.

November 2009 / The Sunday Times reviewed Aurora orchestra's recent concert at Kings Place; 'as pacy and invigorated a reading of Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony No 1 as I've heard.' Click here to read the full article.

September 2009 / Nicholas conducted the Orchestra of Opera North in the opening concert of the Kirklees Concert Series in Dewsbury. New dates announced: Nicholas will conduct the London Sinfonietta on October 1st in the Kings Place as part of their 'Sonic Explorations' Series, the BBC Symphony Orchestra on December 5th in George Crumb's 'Star Child' and a new opera by Julian Philips in the Glyndebourne Festival in March 2010. See www.knightcrewopera.com for more details.

August 2009 / Nicholas appeared in the BBC Proms with Aurora Orchestra in the BBC Proms Composers Competition, (broadcast on BBC Radio 3) and as off-stage conductor in Jon Leifs' 'Hekla,' with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

July 2009 / Nicholas is assisting Sir Mark Elder on Szymanowski's 'King Roger' in the Bregenz Festival.

Classical Music Magazine featured Nicholas and Aurora Orchestra in a double page feature in their June issue. Download page one / page two [PDF]

June 2009 / The Choir of London gave three performances of 'La Bohème' in the Palestinian Territories: Nabus, Jerusalem and Ramallah.

May 2009 / Nicholas conducted Aurora Orchestra in a concert of Polish music in the Sounds New Festival, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Two weeks later, they played Schoenberg's 'Erwartung' in the opening concert of the new Britten Studio in Snape Maltings.

Aurora Orchestra is shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society's Young Artist Award

Krysztof Penderecki with Aurora players

February / The Guardian features an interview with Nicholas about his upcoming tour with the Choir of London in Palestine on the Guardian Online.

January / Nicholas has recently finished a six-concert tour with the SymphonieOrchester Vorarlberg, including two sold-out concerts in the Bregenz Festspielhaus.

December / New concert dates have been announced for 2009, including a tour to the West Bank with ‘La Bohème.’

October / Nicholas performed Haydn, Macmillan, Lully and Birtwistle in a collaboration with Aurora Orchestra and a capoeira dance group, and Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’ with the Salomon Orchestra.

September / It's been a busy summer, performing with Aurora Orchestra in the BBC Proms and Aberystwyth Festival, and working at the Bregenz Festival on Krenek's extraordinary 12-tone opera, 'Karl V.'

September / Nicholas was signed by Van Walsum Management for worldwide representation.

August / Nicholas was listed in Time Out as one of London's three rising musical stars.