Andrés Franco
CONDUCTOR
"Franco was meticulous about shaping musical phrases for optimal impact, and the orchestra responded with irresistible flair....This celebration of all things Viennese can easily trip up a conductor, but Franco was up to the challenge, particularly in the way he handled the work's many difficult transitions [Richard Strauss: Suite from Der Rosenkavalier]."
OKLAHOMA CITY PHILHARMONIC
THE OKLAHOMAN
BIOGRAPHY
Colombian-born Andrés Franco continues to delight audiences with his imaginative programming and energetic style. A frequent guest conductor in the United States, Europe, and South America, Mr. Franco has appeared with the symphonies of Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Eugene, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Omaha, and St. Louis; the philharmonic orchestras of Boise and Oklahoma City; and Sinfoniettas in Kansas City and Chicago. Worldwide, he has conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Perú, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín, Orquesta Sinfónica de EAFIT, and the Camerata Mazatlán. He has also appeared at the Cabrillo, Grant Park, OK Mozart, Oregon Bach, Round Top, and Texas Music festivals. Mr. Franco served five seasons as Music Director of Tulsa’s Signature Symphony and Resident Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony. He also served as Resident Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony and Music Director of the Philharmonia of Kansas City. Mr. Franco is the inaugural Executive Director of DNAWORKS, an organization dedicated to dialogue and healing through the arts. From 2020 to 2023, he served as Executive Director of City of Asylum. He currently serves on the Exposure Advisory Committee of The Pittsburgh Foundation, the WQED Community Advisory Board, and the Programming Advisory Committee of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Born into a musical family, Andrés Franco began piano studies with his father, Jorge Franco. He studied with Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Jose Feghali and attended piano workshops with Rudolph Buchbinder and Lev Naumov. Andrés studied conducting with Marin Alsop, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Helmut Rilling, Gerard Schwarz, Leonard Slatkin, Gustav Meier, and Kurt Masur. Andrés Franco holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, and Master of Music degrees in piano performance and conducting from Texas Christian University. He is married to Victoria Luperi, associate principal clarinet and principal E-flat clarinet of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
RECORDINGS
Andrés Franco
PRESS ACCLAIM
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
“Few musical experiences are as gratifying as a truly distinguished performance debut ... Franco got performances that were incisive, expressive, and, indeed, eloquent. If I were running the FWSO, I would have handed him a contract for his next main-season gig as soon as he walked off the stage.”
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
TULSA SIGNATURE SYMPHONY
“The performance [Mahler Symphony No. 2] had all the sonic power one could imagine an ensemble this size could produce, and under Franco’s deft direction, that power was presented in a focused and often exhilarating way…. the Signature Symphony’s performance was…an emotionally perfect performance.”
TULSA WORLD
OKLAHOMA CITY PHILHARMONIC
"Franco was meticulous about shaping musical phrases for optimal impact, and the orchestra responded with irresistible flair. The suite's bold declamations were especially satisfying, as were those passages played with hushed intensity. This celebration of all things Viennese can easily trip up a conductor, but Franco was up to the challenge, particularly in the way he handled the work's many difficult transitions." [Richard Strauss Suite from Der Rosenkavalier]
THE OKLAHOMAN
PHILHARMONIA OF KANSAS CITY
“He’s a gifted conductor with sweep and imagination and communicative abilities. I predict great things for Franco ... With his high level of musicianship, creative programming and ingratiating manner, he breathed new life into the Philharmonia.
KANSAS CITY STAR
LAKE FOREST SYMPHONY
“In the first movement, Franco articulated the sounds of each section, layer by layer ... he summoned a wave of woodwinds so smoothly that it seemed to be breaking on a remote shore ... The conductor brought out the urgency of the score, which was evident in every measure ... [Franco] has a vibrant podium manner and a confident technique ... The bar keeps getting higher and higher.” [Beethoven Symphony No. 3]
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
EL PASO SYMPHONY
"That the young maestro ... made it sound so easy spoke volumes about his musical leadership... The Bizet symphony demanded restraint, discipline and subtlety. Franco and the musicians responded in kind, particularly on the hauntingly beautiful second movement, with its sinewy oboe lines and pizzicato violas."
EL PASO TIMES
EAFIT SYMPHONY
“[A conductor] with a defined personality and authority to establish his musical criteria. The greatness of his conducting lies in his ability to unify the work without sacrificing its intensity, with a clear concept of dynamics and colors.”
EL COLOMBIANO
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
“Mr. Franco displayed striking elquence; one hopes to hear more from him soon.”
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
