Known for his charisma and expressive interpretations, Mexican conductor and Grammy-winner Carlos Miguel Prieto has established himself not just as a major figure in the orchestra world but also as an influential cultural leader, an educator, and a champion of new music. In a significant career development, he started his tenure as Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony at the beginning of the 2023– 2024 season.
From 2007 to 2022, Prieto was the Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, the country’s leading ensemble, and significantly raised the caliber of the orchestra. He was also Music Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra from 2006 to 2023, where he helped lead the cultural renewal of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. He led the Louisiana Philharmonic to a successful Carnegie Hall debut and a Grammy in 2024. In 2008, he was appointed Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería (OSM), which he led to a Latin Grammy- nomination for Best Classical Music Album and a Grammy award for Best Classical Composition. In 2023, Prieto led OSM in a highly successful tour of the United States, and in 2024 had a hugely impactful residence at Vail! Bravo.
Recent highlights include engagements with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The Spanish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Strasbourg Philharmonic, and Auckland Philharmonia.
Prieto is in demand as a guest conductor with many of the top North American orchestras, including Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Toronto, Minnesota, Washington, New World, and Houston. He has enjoyed a particularly successful relationship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the North Carolina Symphony. In 2023, Prieto made his hugely successful BBC Proms debut at Royal Albert Hall, and at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2024.
Since 2002 Prieto has conducted the Orchestra of the Americas, which draws young musicians from the entire American continent. A staunch proponent of music education, Prieto served as Principal Conductor of the YOA from its inception until 2011 when he was appointed Music Director. In 2018 he conducted the orchestra on a tour of European summer festivals, which included performances at the Rheingau and Edinburgh festivals as well as Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie. He has also worked regularly with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and the NYO2 in New York.
Prieto is renowned for championing Latin American music as well as his dedication to new music. He has conducted over 100 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which were commissioned by him. Prieto places equal importance on championing works by Black and African American composers such as Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Courtney Bryan, among others.
Prieto has an extensive discography that includes Deutsche Gramophone, Naxos, and Sony labels. Prieto was recognized by Musical America as the 2019 Conductor of the Year. A graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities, Prieto studied conducting with Jorge Mester, Enrique Diemecke, Charles Bruck, and Michael Jinbo.
Commitment to Education
That's why the privilege of working with young musicians ever since I started with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas (Orchestra of the Americas today, or OA) in 2002, and I have been Music Director for 15 years. The yearly residencies and tours with YOA/OA have shaped my professional life as well as given music a bigger meaning, social as well as artistic. I have discovered my whole continent (with very few exceptions) from the inside with a passion that goes well beyond my wildest dreams. I have experienced music as a social, religious and artistic phenomenon in the deepest sense in places like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, the Caribbean, Central America and my own country, Mexico. But also Canada, the USA and Europe, as the Orchestra of the Americas has excelled in Berlin, the BBC proms, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Carnegie Hall, while also being the lone Orchestra to tour Haiti and Jamaica. In this fascinating process, I have learned about history, geography and how it shaped each area’s fascinating music. But, most importantly, I have bonded with several generations of musicians who are a true inspiration, because of their quality and generosity. I have seen with my own eyes how music is a means of expression as well as the most powerful way to improve our societies. YOA/OA is a success story musically, as it has worked with musicians as important as Yo-Yo Ma and one accolades around the world, as well as being an incredibly successful Online Academy which Bridges the gap between young talent and the best musical mentors in the world.
Being part of a young Orchestra is the reason why I became a conductor. I have long-time relationships with institutions like New World Symphony in Miami, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Juilliard, Colburn, Curtis, New England Conservatory, and NYO USA (with whom I had an unforgettable Carnegie Hall concert). I am honored to be part of the NYO UK family, which is giving me Cherished Memories including a BBC Proms concert in 2023 and several tours. I have also incredible memories with the young musicians in Brazil (Neojiba), Venezuela (Simon Bolivar), Columbia (Filharmonica Joven), Chile and Mexico (Azteca). Nothing makes me happier than to see young musicians excel, and cross paths with them later, in their successful careers as orchestral musicians, educators and soloists. They are a huge motivation and I will always be committed to supporting them.