Nelson was raised in the Mennonite acapella environment and spent much time as a child in front of the appliance-sized record player listening to Handel's Messiah. His church music experience was almost entirely with hymns, as opposed to gospel songs, and he values encouraging and maintaining that richness of the simple chorale-type setting with lyrics of substance. He did not play any instruments until his mid-twenties, so his piano proficiency was just so enough to squeek by when graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance in 2022 from Friends University. Choral music is still his main interest, but he is also an ardent Bach, bluegrass and barbershop nerd. He enjoys listening to other genres occasionally as a fan of most musical excellence and authenticity, which he believes  as an expression of the spark of the Divine in all humans. These days, in addition to a full work schedule as a mechanic/fabricator and husband/father, he is a bass-baritone soloist, choral conductor, theory and voice teacher, and composer.