ANDRÉS FRANCO

Andrés Franco is in his fifth season as music director of the Philharmonia of Kansas City and recently finished his tenure as assistant conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Under his direction the Philharmonia has been praised for its continued artistic development and creative programming which have led to a steady growth in concert attendance and patron support. He will continue his relationship with the Fort Worth Symphony and will lead the orchestra as guest conductor during the 2008-2009 season.

Mr. Franco has been increasingly active in the U.S. and South America, appearing with several orchestras including the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Medellin Philharmonic and EAFIT Symphony. He has also conducted several choral-orchestral masterworks with various choirs including the Oregon Bach Festival Choir, Kansas City Symphony Chorus, Texas Boys Choir. Upcoming engagements include concerts with the Fort Worth Symphony, the Corpus Christi Symphony, the Philharmonia of Kansas City and the Medellin International Festival. In addition, he will join the conducting faculty at Texas Christian University as a sabbatical replacement for Dr. Germán Gutiérrez and will lead both the TCU Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth.

Mr. Franco’s diverse performance experience includes conducting the premiere of “Escenas Convergentes”, a work written by Luis Franco involving symphony orchestra, soloists and folk musicians as well as dancers and multimedia; and “Invierno Porteño”, a co-production of the Philharmonia of Kansas City and the Kansas City Ballet School, where he appeared as piano soloist and conductor performing music by Astor Piazzolla. Most recently, Andrés joined the artist roster of “Caminos del Inka”, a project created by Maestro Miguel Harth-Bedoya to rediscover, preserve and disseminate the orchestral music of Latin America. “Caminos del Inka” was launched by the Fort Worth Symphony in 2007 and will be presented by orchestras across the United States during the 2008-2009 Season and beyond.

Andrés Franco studied conducting with Maestros Leonard Slatkin, Gerard Schwarz, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Helmut Rilling, Nicholas Uljanov and German Gutierrez.

Born into a family of musicians, Andrés Franco started his studies under the direction of his father, Jorge Franco, then received instruction from composer Luis Franco and pianist Lise Frank. After being awarded a scholarship by the MAZDA Foundation for the Arts and Science, he moved to Bogotá, Colombia to study piano with Professor Radostina Petkova at the Universidad Javeriana, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance. In 2002 he earned a master’s degree in piano performance from TCU as a student of Cliburn Gold Medalist Jose Feghali. Mr. Franco, who also received a master’s degree in conducting from TCU in 2003, served as assistant conductor of both the TCU Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth.

Mr. Franco resides in Fort Worth with his wife Victoria Luperi and their two-year old maltese, Beni.

Read what people are saying about our Conductor:

“Mr. Franco displayed striking eloquence; one hopes to hear more from him soon”

Scott Cantrell

Dallas Morning News

“He’s a gifted young conductor with sweep and imagination and communicative abilities. I predict great things for Franco.”

Paul Horsley

Kansas City Star

“The sold-out theater applauded the performance of [Mozart’s] Réquiem. The orchestra and chorus were skillfully conducted by Andres Franco”

Rafael Vega Bustamante

El Colombiano

“He is on his way to having a real career as a conductor”

Gerard Schwarz

Music Director Seattle Symphony

“…an intense musician, a very communicative artist”

Jose Feghali

Van Cliburn Gold Medalist

Visit Andres’ Web site!