An exciting and insightful communicator renowned for his charismatic presence on the conductor’s podium and his versatile command of various composers and styles, Carlos Miguel Prieto is considered one of the most dynamic young conductors on the classical stage today. Music director of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico and the Orquesta Sinfoica de Mineria in his native Mexico, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in the United States, Maestro Prieto was named music director of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas in November 2011. In high demand as a guest conductor, among Maestro Prieto’s numerous North American guest conducting credits are the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Toronto, Houston, Indianapolis, Colorado, Vancouver and San Antonio, and the philharmonic orchestras of Florida, New Mexico, Dayton and Calgary, and every major orchestra in Mexico. He has conducted orchestras throughout Europe, Russia, Israel and Latin America. Recent debuts abroad include the New Japan Philharmonic in Japan, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in Germany, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and the Netherlands Radio Orchestra in Utrecht.
Named music director of Mexico’s most important orchestra, the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico in July 2007, Carlos Miguel Prieto is also music director of the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria, a post he accepted in 2008. 2012-2013 marks Prieto’s sixth season as music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic.
Maestro Prieto begins fall 2012 with concerts in Mexico. He conducts violinist Joshua Bell with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico, and tenor Ramon Vargas with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria. The Louisiana Philharmonic’s 2012-2013 season includes guest artists violinist Joshua Bell, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Joaquin Achucarro, violinist Stephen Jackiw, and pianist Danny Driver, to name a few. North American guest engagements include the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, debuts with the Memphis Symphony and the Grand Rapids Symphony, and the season opening concerts of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and guesting in the Chicago Youth in Music Festival. Abroad, Maestro Prieto guests with Spain's RTVE - Orquesta Radio Television Espanola, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquesta de Valencia and Orquesta del Principado de Asturias; Brazil’s Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais, and Germany’s Hessicher Rundfunk.
This past summer, Maestro Prieto led the YOA Orchestra of the Americas in an acclaimed tour of Chile. Highlights of the 2011-12 season included presenting the world premiere of Ellen Taffe Zwilich's Shadows for Piano and Orchestra with the Louisiana Philharmonic, and the continuation of a multi-year partnership between the Louisiana Philharmonic and The Historic New Orleans Collection, funded by a generous award of $750,000 to the orchestra from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation over a 30-month period. Prieto conducted all of Shostakovich's concerti and symphonies with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, and led the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineríia in a complete cycle of Sibelius's symphonies. Guest engagements included the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (hr-Sinfonieorchester), Wurttembergische Philharmonie, and the Seattle, Chicago, and Vancouver Symphonies.
Past engagements of note include conducting the YOA Orchestra of the Americas in 2010, alongside Valery Gergiev, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the World Economic Forum at Carnegie Hall. In 2008-2009, Prieto debuted with the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Festival with Yo-Yo Ma as soloist. Overseas, Prieto made his Budapest Symphony debut at the Franz Liszt Academy in February 2007, the first time ever an all-Mexican program was performed in Hungary. Later that year he was also Mexico’s delegate to the Davos World Economic Forum.
In the recording arena, Mr. Prieto has made a series of recordings of Latin American and Mexican music for the Urtext label. His recent recording with violinist Philippe Quint and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria features Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 26, Ludwig van Beethoven's Romances and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 for Avanticlassic. His recording of Korngold’s Violin Concerto with violinist Philippe Quint and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria for Naxos received a Grammy nomination.
Among the honors bestowed upon him are the Order of Orange-Nassau, Grade of Officer, from the government of the Netherlands Kingdom, “Conductor of the Year 2002”, from the Mexican Union of Music and Theatre Critics, and the Mozart Medal of Honor presented by the Government of Mexico and the Embassy of Austria in 1998.
A champion of contemporary music, Mr. Prieto has conducted over 50 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which were commissioned by him. A staunch proponent of music education as well, Maestro Prieto has served as principal conductor of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas (YOA) from its inception in 2002 until 2011, when he was appointed music director. He has performed with this enthusiastic ensemble at the United Nations and the Kennedy Center, as well as touring with them throughout South America and Mexico.
In addition to his present directorships, Maestro Prieto served as music director of Alabama’s Huntsville Symphony for eight years (2003-2011). He is the founder and music director of the Mozart-Haydn Festival, an annual series of six concerts dedicated to the symphonic music of these two composers. Earlier posts at the beginning of his career included music directorships with the Mexico City Philharmonic (1998 to 2002) and the Orquesta Sinfóonica de Xalapa (2002-2007), and serving as assistant conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra.
An accomplished violinist, Carlos Miguel Prieto has played as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, and has participated in the music festivals of Aspen, Tanglewood, Interlochen, San Miguel Allende and Cervantino. Continuing a family tradition that reaches back four generations, he also has been a member of the Cuarteto Prieto, with which he has performed in the most important halls of Mexico, in the U.S., and throughout Europe.
A graduate of Princeton and Harvard Universities (where he was concertmaster of the orchestra), Carlos Miguel Prieto studied conducting with Jorge Mester, Enrique Diemecke, Charles Bruck and Michael Jinbo.
