Nicholas McGegan, OBE

St. Paul, Minn. — To see Nicholas McGegan conduct is to watch a musician so fully in the moment everything extraneous just melts away.

He dances, he laughs, he practically embraces the orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra clearly loved him while he served as their Artistic Partner and Baroque Series Director since the late '90s. Their concerts had a special sparkle, an energy and life that could come from only this sprightly musician.

Today in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Prince Charles formally made Nicholas McGegan an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

The British-born McGegan is currently Music Director of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, Artistic Director of the International Handel-Festival Gottingen in Germany, and a frequent guest conductor with major symphonies in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.

He was given this honour in recognition of "services to music overseas."

We are so delighted that he won this honor. Way to go, Nic!