Nancy Ives

Mr. & Mrs. Edmund Hayes, Jr. Principal Cello Chair

Nancy Ives is a composer and cellist based in Portland, Oregon. She has served as Principal Cello of the Oregon Symphony for more than twenty-five years. Long recognized for her deep commitment to new music, Ives has developed a body of work that reflects a sustained engagement with the natural world, history, and human relationships to place. Her music draws inspiration from environmental systems and cultural narratives, blending depth, clarity, and accessibility. Her orchestral works have been performed across the United States and Europe, including the Oregon Symphony, Denver Philharmonic, and Orchestre National de Bretagne. Recent compositions include Celilo Falls, a multimedia orchestral work developed in collaboration with Indigenous artists released on Navona Recordings in 2026 as part of All Classical Radio’s recording inclusivity initiative, and Immortal Beloved, a violin concerto premiered by an eight-member commissioning consortium. Recent residencies include Friends of Pando (2024–25), the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium (2025) and Lake Chelan Bach Festival (2025). Ives is the founder of Mahonia Music and holds a DMA from the Manhattan School of Music.