Praised for her “dazzling technique and soulful expressiveness,” (Rocky Mountain News), and a musical approach that’s “distinctly sensual…pliant, warm, and sweet,” (New York Times), Debra Nagy is one of North America’s leading performers on the baroque oboe. She is principal oboe with Boston's Handel & Haydn Society and performs with ensembles around the country including the American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Boston Early Music Festival, and others. Passionate about chamber music, Debra is the founder/director of Les Délices and also performs late-medieval music as a regular guest with Boston’s acclaimed Blue Heron and Chicago's Newberry Consort. Debra was recognized with a 2022 Cleveland Arts Prize (Mid-Career) and received the 2022 Laurette Goldberg Prize from Early Music America for her community outreach work with Les Délices on the acclaimed web series SalonEra. Additional awards recognizing her creative and scholarly pursuits include first-prize in the American Bach Soloists Young Artists Competition, a 2009 Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a 2010 Creative Workforce Fellowship from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
Debra’s passion for unearthing little-known masterpieces caused the New York Times to dub Les Délices “an early music group with an avant-garde appetite,” adding, “concerts and CDs by Les Délices are journeys of discovery.” Inspired by a creative process that brings together research, composition in historical styles, improvisation, and artistic collaboration, Debra creates programs that “can’t help but getting one listening and thinking in fresh ways” (San Francisco Classiacal Voice). Recent projects have included Seasons Transformed (reimagining Vivaldi’s iconic concertos for a chamber ensemble including flute, oboe, and bassoon), critically-acclaimed multimedia productions of Machaut’s Remede de Fortune, an acclaimed CD combining jazz and French Baroque airs called Songs without Words, and The White Cat, a pastiche Baroque opera with puppetry and projections based on Marie Catherine d’Aulnoy’s 1690s feminist fairytale.
Social unrest and the restrictions of the COVID-19 Pandemic inspired several new projects. Debra reimagined Les Délices’ traditional concert series for the virtual space, safely recording 11 different programs for broadcast during their 2020-22 seasons. One reviewer described the first program as, “in a word: sensational!” and another recognized “[Les Délices] raises the bar for streaming events that have fairly taken over since the pandemic halted live performing arts. At a most challenging time Les Délices embarks on a creative adventure to extend its audience beyond their in-person performances rather than an alternative to them. The modest ticket price is a cultural gift.”
At the same time, Debra created a bi-weekly web series variety show for early music called SalonEra. Anticipating its 5th Season in 2024-25, SalonEra is a salon experience for the 21st century that brings together regular contributors and special guests whose personalities, perspectives, and contributions set the stage for fascinating conversations and fulfilling artistic exchange. Unlimited by geography or program conventions, SalonEra has attracted a wide audience and enables Debra to dramatically expand the range of repertoire and artists that Les Délices presents.
A dedicated and inspiring teacher, Debra serves on the artist faculties of the American Bach Soloists’ Summer Academy and the Oregon Bach Festival's Berwick Academy, and has given masterclasses at Juilliard, the Cleveland Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory, Cincinnati Conservatory, and University of Washington. She is also committed to service and to fostering the next generation of leaders through her work as a mentor and as a former board member of Early Music America; she helped found what has become EMA’s Emerging Leadership Council.
Debra has recorded over 40 CDs with repertoire ranging from 1300-1800 and has had live performances featured on CBC Radio Canada, Klara (Belgium), NPR’s Performance Today, WQXR, and WGBH. When not rehearsing, performing, or dreaming up new projects, Debra cooks prodigiously (including much canning and pickling) and loves commuting by bicycle from her home in Cleveland's historic Ohio City neighborhood.