Carlos Miguel Prieto, a distinguished conductor with an international career spanning more than 20 years, will join the North Carolina Symphony’s artistic leadership as Artistic Advisor beginning in the 2021/22 season. As the Symphony’s music director search continues, Prieto will help ensure the continued artistic excellence of the orchestra.
In addition to making guest conductor appearances leading the orchestra, Prieto will fill duties off the podium including participating in the audition and musician tenure processes and overseeing the hiring of long-term substitute musicians.
To this special advisership, Prieto, who was Musical America’s “Conductor of the Year” for 2019, brings considerable experience leading renowned orchestras—having held music director posts at the Louisiana Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México and Orquesta Sinfónica de Mineria in his native Mexico, and Orchestra of the Americas. He is a champion of Latin American music and has conducted more than 100 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which he also commissioned.
Prieto has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with NCS, joining for numerous guest conducting engagements since 2011. He most recently led the Symphony in Orff’s choral and orchestral tour de force Carmina Burana, as well as works by composers Anna Clyne and Gabriela Ortiz, in May 2019.
“I have the deepest respect for the musicians of the North Carolina Symphony and their artistry, and am honored and delighted to serve as Artistic Advisor,” says Prieto. “The pandemic has instilled in me an even greater calling to make a difference in people’s lives through music. I am greatly looking forward to collaborating with the musicians and leadership at the Symphony to deliver exceptional music making that connects with the citizens of North Carolina—longtime audiences and new friends alike.”
“All of us at the North Carolina Symphony are thrilled to welcome Carlos Miguel Prieto as Artistic Advisor,” says NCS President & CEO Sandi Macdonald. “Attracting an artistic advisor of his international stature speaks to the Symphony’s growing profile and reputation. And Carlos is not only an extraordinarily talented conductor and musician who has led the orchestra in dynamic performances but is also passionate about building meaningful relationships with students and adults throughout our state.”
Prieto joins an exceptional artistic leadership team who, along with the Symphony’s musicians, are guiding the Symphony’s programming, artistic reputation, and community impact during the music director transition period. Also ensuring stability, Grant Llewellyn—who concluded his tenure as Music Director at the end of the 2019/20 season—continues in his role as Music Director Laureate.
With artistic excellence in place, NCS continues an international search for its next music director and is planning its 2021/22 concert season. Program details will be announced this summer.
By Meredith Kimball Laing, Director of Communications, North Carolina Symphony