Education and Community Engagement

Nester’s work in education and arts leadership spans conservatory training, curriculum development, community engagement, program design, and international creative-learning initiatives. Across these roles, he has worked with students and artists from elementary school through graduate and professional levels, while developing programs that connect artistic excellence with access, collaboration, and meaningful engagement with wider communities.

At The Juilliard School, where he has taught for more than a decade, Nester serves on the faculty of both the Pre-College Division and Music Advancement Program (MAP), teaching trumpet and leading the Pre-College Brass Class. MAP provides advanced musical training to talented young musicians from backgrounds historically underrepresented in classical music. Nester previously served as Juilliard’s Artistic Administrator of Community Engagement, developing and curating interactive performances, educational programs, and partnerships connecting Juilliard artists with schools and communities throughout New York City.

As Chair of the Music Department at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s School in New York, Nester oversees music curriculum and educational delivery for 273 students and directs the school’s brass program and ensembles.

From 2016 to 2021, Nester served as Artistic Director of Bridge Arts Ensemble, an arts education organization partnering professional artists with schools and communities throughout New York State. Reporting to the organization’s Board, he directed an annual portfolio of approximately $1.2 million, worked with a roster of approximately 50 teaching artists, and oversaw more than 80 performances and residencies each year. The organization reached more than 70,000 students annually through teaching-artist residencies, performances, and interactive educational programming.

His higher-education teaching has included undergraduate and graduate music-history courses at Manhattan School of Music, with particular emphasis on twentieth- and twenty-first-century music, chamber music, and the social and cultural contexts in which artistic practice develops. He has also given lectures, masterclasses, and workshops at institutions including New York University, George Mason University, The Juilliard School, and the University of Scranton.

Nester’s educational work increasingly extends beyond traditional music training. As an advisor to initiatives involving UNICEF and Generation Unlimited, he has contributed to the development of creative-learning and pathways designed to expand opportunity for young people historically underserved by existing education and employment systems. This work has included the Creative Academy, an international initiative designed to reach five million underrepresented young people and connect 100,000 participants with employment or verified earning opportunities by 2030. His collaborations with scientists, policymakers, and cultural institutions have also led to workshops and public programs examining the role artists can play in conversations surrounding ecology, technology, sustainability, and environmental change.

Underlying this work is an interest in the institutions and structures that allow artists and students to develop ambitious work: strong mentorship, rigorous artistic standards, thoughtful program design, access to opportunity, and communities in which experimentation and exchange are possible. Whether working within a conservatory, school, residency, government agency, community program, or interdisciplinary research environment, Nester’s work brings together artistic practice, education, and institutional leadership.