American soprano; b. Chicago, Sept. 10, 1939. Nelson studied at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, then sang with music groups of the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley. She made her operatic debut as Drusilla in CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI'S L'INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA in Brussels in 1979, then appeared widely as a soloist and recitalist. In 1987 she sang Stefano Landi's Sant' Alessio (1634) at Innsbruck.

Although particularly noted for her performances of BAROQUE music, she also introduced compositions by American and English composers.