Background
Carlos Ágreda is a Colombia-born symphonic conductor whose rapidly rising international career has earned early acclaim on major stages across the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Finalist in the inaugural International Conducting Competition Rotterdam, and semifinalist in the Berlin Philharmonic's Karajan-Akademie competition for the "Siemens Conductors Scholarship 2021", Carlos is recognized for his "expressive musicality" and "inspiring leadership" both on and off the podium.
Carlos was named a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 2023–24 season, and Music Director of the Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil de Bogotá —one of Colombia's leading performing ensembles.
Carlos has led Colombia’s foremost orchestras, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, the Bogotá Philharmonic, the Medellín Philharmonic, and the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, with which he gave acclaimed performances on a national tour with Stravinsky Petrushka, and at Germany’s Rheingau Music Festival playing Colombian music and Mozart. He has also appeared in collaborations with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Opera Philadelphia, Manchester Camerata, Curtis Opera Theatre, Teatro Municipal de Lima, and Teatro Colón in Bogotá, among others.
He has collaborated with distinguished conductors including Gustavo Dudamel, Juanjo Mena, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Zubin Mehta, Sir Andrew Davis, Simone Young, Michael Tilson Thomas, Cristian Măcelaru, and Leonard Slatkin. Recent engagements include debuts with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Concepción (Chile).
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Carlos also holds a master’s degree in conducting from the Royal Northern College of Music (UK), and a Bachelor's Degree from the Corpas University (Colomba).
“Ágreda looks every inch a conductor. His technique is admirably economical, with the left hand kept out of the way whenever it is not needed for expressive molding of phrases, and displaying also an ample supply of charisma he created the feeling that this could well be a major career in the making.”
—Seen and Heard International
Carlos first called international attention when at age 22, he advanced with other six candidates to the third round of the Cadaqués International Conducting Competition.
Carlos has been featured in national and international media including Forbes Life Latam, La Voz de América (USA), The Violin Channel, Revista Semana, Caracol Radio, La W Radio Colombia, and the television program Los Informantes (Caracol Televisión). In 2021, Forbes named him one of Colombia’s “50 Most Creative People.”
carreer highlights
🇺🇸 Dudamel Fellow in Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 2023-2024 season.
📍 Los Angeles, USA
🇩🇪 Semifinalist at the Berliner Philharmoniker's competition “Siemens Conductors Scholarship for the Karajan-Akademie" in 2021
📍 Berlin, Germany
🇺🇸 Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music with Yannick Nézet-Séguin
📍 Philadelphia, USA
🇳🇱 Finalist and Designate Winner at the 1st International Conducting Competition Rotterdam 2021
📍 Rotterdam, Holanda
🇺🇸 Music Director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra
📍 New York, USA
🇨🇴 Music Director of the Filarmónica Juvenil de Bogotá
📍 Bogotá, Colombia
Repertoire and musical versatility
My interests in music are based in my fascination and commitment for Musical Versatility, as a conductor my repertoire spans the core symphonic European tradition of the 18th through 20th centuries, as well as opera, choral music, and a wide spectrum of contemporary and electronic music, with a particular fascination for the music of the Americas. I am a dedicated advocate for New Music, with experience as an award-winning composer and arranger, and having conducted more than fifty world premieres. I have been participated at leading contemporary music festivals, including the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in 2017 as a Conducting Fellow.
My passion is the celebration the diversity of symphonic music, while I feel equally at home collaborating across genres — whether performing piano with salsa and tango ensembles or working with folkloric groups as an arranger — continually seeking to bridge musical languages.
Collaborations with youth orchestras is one of my deepest passions as the transformational power of music has a very tangible impact, I have collaborated with El Sistema–inspired initiatives and orchestras such as Play On Philly (USA) and Sinfonía por el Perú, as well as youth orchestras including the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, the Empire State Youth Orchestra (USA), Stockport Youth Orchestra (UK), Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil de Bogotá, and others.