Praised for the depth of his interpretations of classical masterpieces and his dedicated commitment to contemporary music, conductor Nimrod David Pfeffer has performed with orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra. He has additionally led opera productions at distinguished venues such as the Metropolitan Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Palau des Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia, the Juilliard Opera, and the Israeli Opera.
In 2022, Pfeffer made his Metropolitan Opera conducting debut with Le Nozze di Figaro, featuring a cast that included Gerald Finley, Ying Fang, Federica Lombardi, Christian Van Horn, and Maurizio Muraro. His successful debut led to an immediate invitation for future seasons at the Metropolitan Opera.
In the same year, he conducted Barrie Kosky's production of Die Zauberflöte at the Komische Oper Berlin and at the New Israeli Opera, in addition to making his debut with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the upcoming 2023/24 season, Pfeffer will return to the Juilliard Opera to conduct La Clemenza di Tito, and will make his Polish National Opera debut with Die Zauberflöte. He will also return to lead The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in two programs: one featuring all-Israeli contemporary music at The Israel Music Fest, and another dedicated to the works of Camille Saint-Saëns and Marc Lavry at the Pianos Festival. Furthermore, he will perform as a pianist and conductor with the Raanana Symphonette, in program featuring works by Mozart and Beethoven. During the previous 2022/23 season, Pfeffer made his conducting debuts with the Hungarian National Orchestra, Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, and Israel Camerata Orchestra.
In 2016, Pfeffer was appointed as the Music Director of the Lyric Opera Company of Guatemala after conducting the company's inaugural production of Rigoletto. As Music Director, he continued to lead the company’s new productions of L'Elisir d'Amore, La Bohème, and La Traviata in subsequent seasons.
Pfeffer is a frequent conductor at the Israeli Opera, where he has led productions including Don Giovanni, Idomeneo, Simone Boccanegra, and Die Zauberflöte in recent seasons. Notably, in the 2022/23 season, he conducted the highly anticipated world premiere of Theodor, an opera by Yonatan Cnaan and Ido Ricklin, which explores two periods in the early life of Theodor Herzl, the prophet of the State of Israel. The opera's success with both critics and audiences has led to its inclusion in upcoming seasons. In the 2023/24 season, Pfeffer will return to Israeli Opera to conduct Schitz, a contemporary opera by Israeli composer Yoni Rechter.
Beyond his role as a conductor, Nimrod David Pfeffer is a highly accomplished pianist, regularly performing as a soloist with orchestras, in recitals, and as a chamber musician and vocal accompanist. He has appeared in renowned venues such as New York's Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and The Metropolitan Opera, as well as the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall and the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, among other major stages in the USA, Europe, and Asia.
His latest album, featuring live piano recordings of works by Bach, Schumann, and Chopin, was released this year on all streaming platforms.
Dedicated to fostering dialogue between Arabs and Jews in Israel, Pfeffer was honored with the Davis Projects for Peace Award for organizing a fundraiser dedicated to peace at Carnegie Hall.
He holds a Master's Degree in Orchestral Conducting from The Juilliard School, where he studied under Alan Gilbert as a recipient of the Bruno Walter Scholarship. He was awarded the Charles Schiff Conducting Prize and the Norman Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant upon graduation. Pfeffer also earned Master's Degrees and Professional Studies Diplomas in Piano Performance and Orchestral Conducting from Mannes College of Music. He was a fellow at the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artists Development Program and subsequently served as Assistant Conductor and Assistant Chorus Master at the Metropolitan Opera. He has received grants from the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Pfeffer studied with esteemed musicians such as Pnina Salzman, Vadim Monastyrski, Gideon Hatzor, Michael Wolpe, André Hajdu, Victor Rosenbaum, Carl Schachter, Claude Frank, Byron Janis, Alan Gilbert, James Levine, and Richard Goode.