Trained as an oboist, Nicolas Chalvin studied at the CNSM in Lyon and then held the position of principal oboist with the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.
In 2001, he was assistant to Armin Jordan, who urged him to abandon the oboe for the baton. He then began a career as a conductor at the Lausanne Opera and the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra. Franz Welser-Möst took notice of him and immediately invited him to conduct at the Opernhaus Zürich.
Since then, Nicolas Chalvin has been conducting operas in Switzerland, France and Austria: Carmen, Orphée, Traviata, Les Troyens, Cosi fan Tutte, Rake's Progress, Eugene Onegin, Die Zauberflöte.
He is also a guest conductor with international orchestras, including the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, the Orquestra São Carlo in Lisbon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the National Orchestra of Greece, the National Ballet Orchestra of Beijing and the Landesthather Innsbruck Orchestra.
From 2009 to 2021, Nicolas Chalvin was the Musical Director of the Orchestre des Pays de Savoie. At its head, he endeavored to shape its colors and multiply its stylistic approaches, moving with ease through the orchestral repertoire, from early Baroque to the most recent works, with a particular fondness for French music and Viennese classics.