Nicolas Ellis is known internationally for his engaging style of conducting and his interpretations of classical repertoire. In 2013, Nicolas founded the Orchestre de I’Agora which is an orchestra that is recognized for its artistic programs and audience engagement. Since 2021, Orchestre de I’Agroa has been presenting monthly chamber music concert series at the Prison de Bordeaux in Montréal. Most recently, Nicolas has been named “Revelation of the Year 2018-2019” by Radio-Canada and has won the Prix Goyer Mécénat Musica in 2021.

NICOLAS ELLIS is the Music Director of the Orchestre National de Bretagne, Principal Guest Conductor of Les Violons du Roy, as well as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Orchestre de l’Agora, which he founded in Montreal in 2013.

Known for his versatility in a vast repertoire, Nicolas has distinguished himself with the Orchestre de l’Agora by conceiving concerts with a dramaturgical approach. In collaboration with the Opéra de Montréal, the Agora has presented several opera projects in atypical venues in Montreal, including The Turn of the Screw, which took place in an industrial warehouse, and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, presented at the Théâtre le Paradoxe, a church converted into a performance space that offers arts training to marginalized youths. In addition, concerts such as Electra and Iphigenia featuring the music of Mozart, Gluck, and Haydn with soprano Karina Gauvin, and Bach, le voyage éphémère, used unique lighting effects to create immersive musical experiences for a wide variety of audiences. Alongside the Orchestre de l’Agora, Nicolas won a JUNO award in the Classical Album of the Year, Large Ensemble category for the album Viola Borealis featuring violist Marina Thibeault. Agora also won the Opus Prize for Musical Event of the Year for the Gala de la Terre featuring Mahler’s 3rd Symphony, a major fundraising event for several environmental organizations. The eclecticism of Agora’s repertoire, as well as the talent and curiosity of its musicians, constitute the core of the ensemble’s artistic identity, as demonstrated by its recent critically acclaimed productions of Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea and the contemporary music showcase titled Big Bang. In keeping with the Agora’s outreach mission, Nicolas has set up musical creation projects with teenagers coping with mental illness, educational workshops for children, and a series of monthly concerts for the inmates at the Bordeaux Prison in Montreal.

Nicolas is one of the most active conductors on the Canadian scene. He has been invited to conduct the Vancouver Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. In the 2023-2024 season, he will make his American debut with the San Diego Symphony. He will also be conducting Le Nozze di Figaro at the Opéra de Montréal and Die Fledermaus at the Opéra de Québec, as well as opening the 2024 Festival de Lanaudiere with the Orchestra de L’Agora in July. The 2024-2025 season will see Nicolas guest conducting with Tampere Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Orchestre Métropolitain, and Edmonton Symphony. He will conduct L’Enfant et les Sortilèges at Opera de Montreal and Magic Flute at Opera de Rennes. 

Among the musical encounters and projects that have strongly influenced him are his former position as Artistic Collaborator of the Orchestre Métropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin from 2018 to 2023 and his role as assistant conductor to Raphaël Pichon and the Ensemble Pygmalion in opera productions at the Opéra comique, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Salzburg Festival.

Nicolas Ellis received the 2017 Fernand Lindsay Career Grant, was named Radio-Canada's revelation of the year 2018-2019, and was also awarded the Prix Goyer Mécénat Musica 2021.