About Giancarlo Guerrero

Costa Rican conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, now in his sixth season as Music Director of Oregon’s Eugene Symphony, has been appointed Music Director of the Nashville Symphony, beginning with the 2009/10 season. This season, he serves as the Symphony’s Music Director Designate. A champion of new music, Guerrero initiated a guest-composer series in Eugene, where, under his leadership, the ensemble has hosted several of America’s most respected composers, including John Adams, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Aaron Jay Kernis and Michael Daugherty. Guerrero served as Associate Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra from 1999-2004. He made his Minnesota Orchestra subscription debut in March 2000, leading the world premiere of John Corigliano’s Phantasmagoria on the Ghosts of Versailles. He returned on subscription every subsequent season during his tenure. As a guest conductor, Guerrero recently made his European debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, where he was immediately invited to return, and his UK Debut with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He has also recently made successful debuts with several major American orchestras, including the Baltimore Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Other recent orchestral engagements in North America include appearances with the orchestras of Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota, Oregon, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle, Winnipeg and the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., among others. During the 2007/08 season, Guerrero’s guest conducting engagements include his return appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra both in Cleveland and on tour, including the orchestra’s residency in Miami. He also leads the Australian premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s chamber opera Ainadamar at the Adelaide Festival. Additional engagements include appearances with the symphony orchestras of Dallas, Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Antonio and San Diego, as well as his return to Nashville in May 2008 for performances of Verdi’s Requiem. Also in demand in both Central and South America, Guerrero conducts regularly in Venezuela, both with the Orquesta Sinfonica Simon Bolivar and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela. In June 2004, Guerrero was awarded the Helen M. Thompson Award by the American Symphony Orchestra League, which recognizes outstanding achievement among young conductors nationwide. Guerrero holds degrees from Baylor and Northwestern universities. Prior to his tenure with the Minnesota Orchestra, he served as music director of the Tachira Symphony Orchestra in Venezuela.