From Sligo, James is a B.A.,B.Mus (Honours) graduate from University College Dublin.Teachers include David Harper (London), Britta Sundberg (Stockholm) and Edith Forrest (Dublin).

His busy opera and concert schedule has taken him throughout the UK and Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Israel, Singapore and the USA.In oratorio he has performed from a repertoire of more than 60 works including Elgar's"Gerontius", Britten's "St.Nicolas", Verdi's "Requiem", Frank Martin's "Golgotha" in Bern and Zürich cathedrals, and the Narrator in "L'Enfance du Christ" alongside Katia Ricciarelli in Rome and Florence.

James boasts a repertoire of more than 50 roles in opera and operetta including Tichon ("Katya Kabanova") for Opera Theatre Company in Lisbon and Porto, Don Basilio ("Marriage of Figaro") under the baton of Raymond Leppard for Scottish Opera, Pinkerton ("Madame Butterfly") at Hever Castle in Kent, Snout/Wall ("A Midsummer Night's Dream") for Singapore Lyric Opera, Lensky ("Eugene Onegin") in Russia, Alfredo ("La Traviata") at Como in Italy and many roles for New Israeli Opera, Opera Ireland, Wexford Festival and Buxton Festival.
 
In 2000, as one of “The Celtic Tenors”, James signed a 3 album worldwide deal on the EMI label. All three albums achieved platinum status at home in Ireland. “The Celtic Tenors” have had Number 1 in Ireland and Germany, Number 2 in the UK, Numer 4 in Canada, and Number 6 in the US Billboard Charts. “The Celtic Tenors” were awarded the ‘Echo Award’ in Germany for ‘Best Classical Crossover Act’, have sung for President Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan, and have recorded a PBS TV special which was broadcast coast to coast in the USA. Their recently released 4th album on Dara Records (Ireland) and Telarc (worldwide) includes such guests as Air Supply, Brian Kennedy, Majella Cullagh and Samantha Mumba. 2007/2008 also sees full tours of Ireland, the Netherlands, the Gulf States, the USA and Canada. The Celtic Tenors are headlining many of the top Irish Festivals in the USA, including Milwaukee and Dublin (Ohio). See www.celtictenors.com and www.celtic-tenors-fans.com .

For 4 years James wrote a weekly column for the “Sligo Weekender”, but now due to the commitments of touring he writes a column once a month. See www.sligoweekender.ie – Nelson’s Column, to view some of James’ work.

In June 2007, James was part of a team of 11 volunteers (mostly from his home town of Sligo) who took part in firstly fund-raising, and then upgrading the beyond-basic accommodation and education facilities at Cheryl’s Children’s Home, a home for AIDS orphans in Dagoretti on the outskirts of the horrendous Kibera slum in Nairobi (Kenya) – Africa’s largest slum. See www.kenyabuild.com Cheryl’s is just one of the many projects being supported long-term by Kenya Build.

See the Kenya Page for details of James' work in Kenya

The entire trip was organised by James’ lifelong friend from Sligo – Basil Love. For several years now, Basil and his teams of volunteers have been independently travelling to Nairobi to give some hope to these unfortunate children who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in this frightful situation. In Basil’s projects, there is no ‘Middle-Man’ – every cent raised goes directly to the project, and the children’s futures.

In November 2007 & June/July 2008, James returned to Cheryl’s to build, to upgrade Cheryl’s own website (See www.cherylshome.net ), to teach the children music and singing, to organise fund-raising concerts, and to take the children on one-off day-trips to see some of the many positive aspects of their beautiful country, their rich wildlife to name but one obvious example. For many this was their first time ever outside of the slum, and to see animals other than rats and snakes.

James, along with his friend Maeve Coghlan (Soprano), and the Celtic Tenors Musical Director Colm Henry, gave a series of 4 fund-raising recitals in Nairobi at the Lord Erroll and at the Muthaiga Club. Some of the children from Cheryl’s Children’s Home formed a choir for these memorable concerts. Check out the clips on You Tube, by going to www.youtube.com and typing in “Cheryl’s Children”. Or follow the links on the “Kenya Page”.

As this is an ongoing project, and the orphanage is in constant debt, if anyone feels they might like to give to this extremely worthy cause (No pressure whatsoever!) the relevant bank details are below. Many thanks!

Account Name : Kenya Build c/o James Nelson,
Bank of Ireland, Baltinglass, County Wicklow.
Account Number : 56967923
Sort Code : 90-65-07
Iban number : IE72BOFI90650756967923
Bic/Swift Number : BOFIIE2D

Read about upcoming fundraising concerts for Kenya Build on the Kenya Build page.

Agency Contacts

Celtic Tenor Management :
Tim Bernett, Deep Blue Arts, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Email : info@bernett.us

For North American Bookings :
Email: brian@montereyinternational.net
www.montereyinternational.net

For European Bookings :
Email: pbmusicprom@zeelandnet.nl
www.pbmusicprom.nl

For Canadian bookings:
Paquin Entertainment, Toronto, Ontario.
www.paquinentertainment.com
steve@paquinentertainment.com

For other enquiries :
Email: info@jamesdnelson.com

Links

www.celtictenors.com (Official Website)
www.celtic-tenors-fans.com (Official Fansite)
www.graftonbarbers.com (Celtic Tenor Coiffeurs!)
www.sligoweekender.ie (Click on “Nelson’s Column”)
www.cherylshome.net (Ongoing building & child-sponsor project in Kenya in which James is involved).
www.kenyabuild.com