Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nathan Meltzer. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nathan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The project that I’m most proud of and most excited about for the future is a chamber music organization called Opus Illuminate that I co-founded back during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. Created as a response to the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing conversations and reckoning of race relations in the United States, Opus Illuminate is a chamber music organization dedicated expanding and enriching the classical music industry by programming and performing works by composers of historically underrepresented communities and heritages. Our first season consisted of a series of ten “Asynchronous Concerts,” in which our friends and colleagues from around the world recorded themselves performing a wide array of works by a large selection of incredible contemporary composers from their respective quarantine spaces. The following season, Opus Illuminate produced “The Space We Hold,” a five part docu-series that focused on the music and comprehensive life experiences of a handful of composers based currently in the United States. Each episode incorporated recorded performances into an interview structure to provide insight into the personal lives and compositional styles of each composer, humanizing the music and facilitating a personal relationship between audience and the composer. And last year, we started a partnership with Sey Coffee, an incredible cafe in Brooklyn, for a series of music and coffee pairing concerts that will continue for future seasons under the rebranded name of The Green Room Ensemble.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Nathan Meltzer. I’m a 23 year old violinist living in New York, where I’ve been since I graduated from Juilliard studying with Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin. In the 15 years that I’ve been playing the violin, I’m grateful to have been able to travel around the world to perform, work, and study. While I love performing all kinds of music, chamber music is the form that I hold closest to my heart. And more recently, and probably in part due to a long-term relationship with a composer, I have become completely enamored by contemporary music. I’m the Artistic Director and co-founder of a contemporary chamber music organization completely dedicated to the works by composers from historically underrepresented communities. This is a project that brings me immense pride and fills me with a sense of purpose and satisfaction, and its mission has seeped into every aspect of my performing life.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As a classical musician living in the 21st century, the aspect of the craft that I find myself struggling with most often is the question of relevancy and accessibility. Classical music as an art form is inherently past-oriented; we celebrate works written primarily during the last few hundred years. And while these works tap into aspects of the human condition that are still universal and can be enjoyed by anyone, the culture surrounding this performance can sometimes be alienating to those not familiar with its customs. On top of this, if we only celebrate music of the past, we don’t give ample space and opportunity to those who are creating art that reflects the values of our current time and society.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that I am able to dedicate myself to something that, at the end of the day, is completely my own. Music is such a deep and personal art form, and I find it endlessly fascinating how each musician can interpret a piece in a completely different way. Getting an opportunity to work on, learn, and perform a piece gives me an opportunity to learn more about myself, my values, and how I see the world. It’s an art form that necessitates personal exploration, something that I find endlessly fulfilling.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nathanmeltzer.com/
• Instagram: @nathanmeltzerviolin
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanmeltzerviolin/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NathanMeltzer
• Other: https://www.opusilluminate.com/@opusilluminate https://www.youtube.com/@opusilluminate3131

Image Credits
1) Jiyang Chen 2) Emma Wernig 3) Devin Moore 4 and 5) Tam Lan Truong