About Carlos
“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 Ágreda is a conductor from Colombia developing a promising international career in the United States, Europe and Latin America who is quickly gaining attention for his expressive musicianship and his charismatic leadership on and off the podium.
Ágreda first came to international attention when he reached the third round in the Cadaqués Orchestra International Conducting Competition at the age of 22. He was formerly a conducting fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music under the mentorship of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and later became Music Director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra in Schenectady, New York. Most recently, Carlos Ágreda was selected as a Designate Winner in the first edition of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam, where he conducted the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Sinfonia Rotterdam.
Carlos Ágreda conducted leading orchestras in his home country, including the Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá and Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín, and he recently conducted the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia at the Rheingau Musik Festival in Germany, stepping in at the last minute to conduct the orchestra’s 2022 Colombia National Tour. Past appearances include Opera Philadelphia, Manchester Camerata, BBC Philharmonic and Curtis Opera Theater. He has worked closely with world-renowned conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, Juanjo Mena, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Zubin Mehta, Sir Andrew Davis, Simone Young, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Cristi Macelaru, among others. Upcoming engagements include the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfónica de Concepción Chile.
Ágreda has lived in Colombia, England, the United States, and Germany. He was born in Bogotá, where he studied conducting, piano and composition at Juan N. Corpas University. He holds a master’s degree from the prestigious conducting program at the Royal Northern College of Music. He also holds a post-baccalaureate diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music. Ágreda’s repertoire and musical interests range from not only the vast spectrum of symphonic music across the Classical and Romantic eras and the 20th century, but also opera, choral music, contemporary music, electronic music, improvisation and music from the Americas. Carlos Ágreda’s approach to new music has been developed not only by being an award-winning composer, but also by collaborating with numerous composers and conducting more than 30 world premieres as well as performing in new-music festivals.
His unique background and perspectives leads Carlos Ágreda to be very passionate about musical versatility in general and an enthusiast for the celebration of the diversity of symphonic music. His repertoire and musical interest ranges from not only the vast spectrum of symphonic music across the Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century eras, but also opera, choral music, contemporary music, electronic music, and music from the Americas. It would not be surprising to find Carlos occasionally playing piano with salsa and tango bands, or collaborating with folkloric groups as an arranger in celebration of his passion for bridging musical languages. Allowing his understanding and experience from all these activities to influence each other, Carlos epitomises the 21st century musician.
Carlos Ágreda has been featured in national and international media: Forbes Life Latam, La Voz de América (USA), The Violin Channel, Revista Semana, Caracol Radio and La W Radio Colombia, and recently in “Los Informantes” (Colombian adaptation of “60-minutes”) in Caracol Televisión. In 2021 Carlos was included on the list of Colombia’s “50 Most Creative People” by Forbes Magazine.
His commitment to education had allowed him to lead different collaborations with "El Sistema-inspired" projects such as Play On Philly (Philadelphia, USA), Sinfonía por el Perú, and youth orchestras such as the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, the Empire State Youth Orchestra (NY, USA), the Stockport Youth Orchestra (UK), Orquesta Filarmónica Juvenil de Bogotá, and more! In Colombia, Carlos was the founding Artistic Director of one of the projects of social transformation through music funded by the Bogota City Hall in collaboration with the Bogota Philharmonic and the Corporación Coral y Orquestal de Colombia.