David T. Beals III Associate Conductor
Gonzalo Farias
Farias was recently selected to conduct at the prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, the most important showcase for young conductors in America. He was also appointed as a panel member reviewing applications to the National Endowment for the Arts during its 2021 grant cycle.
Farias previously served as associate conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony and as assistant conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta’s leadership. He received the prestigious Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Conducting Fellowship for two seasons where he was mentored by Marin Alsop. As former music director of the Joliet Symphony Orchestra, Farias transformed the city of Joliet, embracing the Hispanic residents of the greater Chicago area with pre-concert lectures, Latin-based repertoire, and a unique side-by-side bilingual narration of Bizet’s Carmen.
During the summer, Farias has worked closely with Jaap Van Zweden and Johannes Schlaefli in the Gstaad Menuhin Festival in Switzerland as well as with Neeme and Paavo Järvi at the Pärnu Music Festival. In the United States, he was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Bruno Walter Memorial Conducting Scholarship at the Cabrillo Music Festival and named “Emergent Conductor” by Victor Yampolsky at the Peninsula Music Festival. He also attended the Pierre Monteux Festival where he received the Bernard Osher Scholar Prize.
Farias was chosen as one of 24 finalists in the prestigious 2018 Malko Conducting Competition with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. His conducting experience includes leading the Charlotte Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Tallahassee Symphony, Zagreb Philharmonic, and National Symphony of Chile, among others.
Farias was born in Santiago de Chile, where he began his piano studies at age five. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the P.C. University of Chile, and then continued his graduate piano studies at the New England Conservatory as a full-scholarship student of Wha-Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. He has won first prize at the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition and prizes at the Maria Canals and Luis Sigall Piano Competitions. As a conductor, Farias attended the University of Illinois working with Donald Schleicher, the Peabody Conservatory with Marin Alsop, and worked privately with Larry Rachleff and the late Otto-Werner Mueller.
Updated on August 31, 2022
An engaging orchestral conductor, award-winning pianist, and passionate educator, Gonzalo Farias was recently named associate conductor of the Kansas City Symphony, beginning with the 2022/23 season. In an ever-changing world, Farias’ ambition is to establish music-making as a way of rethinking our place in society by cultivating respect, trust, and cooperation among all people in our own community.
Farias was recently selected to conduct at the prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, the most important showcase for young conductors in America. He was also appointed as a panel member reviewing applications to the National Endowment for the Arts during its 2021 grant cycle.
Farias previously served as associate conductor of the Jacksonville Symphony and as assistant conductor of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta’s leadership. He received the prestigious Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Conducting Fellowship for two seasons where he was mentored by Marin Alsop. As former music director of the Joliet Symphony Orchestra, Farias transformed the city of Joliet, embracing the Hispanic residents of the greater Chicago area with pre-concert lectures, Latin-based repertoire, and a unique side-by-side bilingual narration of Bizet’s Carmen.
During the summer, Farias has worked closely with Jaap Van Zweden and Johannes Schlaefli in the Gstaad Menuhin Festival in Switzerland as well as with Neeme and Paavo Järvi at the Pärnu Music Festival. In the United States, he was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Bruno Walter Memorial Conducting Scholarship at the Cabrillo Music Festival and named “Emergent Conductor” by Victor Yampolsky at the Peninsula Music Festival. He also attended the Pierre Monteux Festival where he received the Bernard Osher Scholar Prize.
Farias was chosen as one of 24 finalists in the prestigious 2018 Malko Conducting Competition with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. His conducting experience includes leading the Charlotte Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Tallahassee Symphony, Zagreb Philharmonic, and National Symphony of Chile, among others.
Farias was born in Santiago de Chile, where he began his piano studies at age five. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the P.C. University of Chile, and then continued his graduate piano studies at the New England Conservatory as a full-scholarship student of Wha-Kyung Byun and Russell Sherman. He has won first prize at the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition and prizes at the Maria Canals and Luis Sigall Piano Competitions. As a conductor, Farias attended the University of Illinois working with Donald Schleicher, the Peabody Conservatory with Marin Alsop, and worked privately with Larry Rachleff and the late Otto-Werner Mueller.
Updated on August 31, 2022