Carlos Ágreda (Conducting Fellowship ’18)
Interviewed by Ali King
Director, Marketing and Business Development
Curtis Institute of Music
November 19, 2020
AK: You live in upstate New York now, but grew up and studied music in Bogotá. Do you return often?
CA: I love that city, and not even because I was born there. I like chaos. It’s the capital of Colombia, so you will see all the country’s diversity there. The ambitious energy, the creativity of the people — it’s captivating. The weather too — it’s cooler there in the mountains. This year in April I had tickets bought to travel and conduct the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, and then of course the pandemic hit. I try to go with a musical excuse; it’s great to make music there.
AK: I’m curious to know more about what you’ve called your “musical birthday”.
CA: I was fifteen years old and had failed ninth grade. (Today I feel proud that I failed ninth grade!) I was failing again, and the school said to me, “Please leave. You’re not taking this seriously. You’re an artist!” I thought, “OK fine, I’m an artist, goodbye.” I found this program that allowed me to study music at a university level without having a high school diploma. In order to enter this special program though, I had to commit and we had to buy a real piano. I remember it was a Saturday when I was lying in bed, thinking about this decision, and suddenly felt this overwhelming urge to become and be a musician. The date was October 28, and that is the day that I began to fall in love with conducting.
AK: This is my first interview with a conductor, and I’ve always wanted to ask what it’s like to have your back to the audience. Does that body language ever feel contentious, or like you are protecting the orchestra from the audience?
CA: My role as a conductor is to be a bridge between the orchestra and the audience — to inspire and lead the musicians in order to transmit a musical vision to the audience. Symphonic music is a miracle and transformative. I’m very humbled that I’m on a podium. In the end I don’t make any sound, so it is a privilege for me to be there.
AK: Your fellowship at Curtis was under the tutelage of the great Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has helped make classical music more accessible to new audiences through outlets like social media. Do you feel pressure to be active, or an influencer, on social media?
CA: I think he is a visible part of a wave that’s happening in the current generation of conductors, which is a less top-down approach and more democratic. I think his popularity on social media is a personal choice, because he genuinely loves people. I don’t feel a pressure to be active on social media, but I do think it’s given musicians a very useful platform that we should take advantage of to connect with audiences. Record labels and PR agencies aren’t required any more to reach listeners, and that is empowering.
AK: Tell me about studying with Yannick.
CA: It was an honor! Yannick is an inspiration to any young conductor. What I was saying earlier about the conductor as a bridge — Yannick represents that philosophy. He sees musicians as people, not instruments. He sees the audience as people, not seats. Most conductors are studying scores in the green room prior to performances; Yannick is learning about people to make experiences personal. His approach as my mentor was to acknowledge the strengths and skills I had and help me to refine those. Even his teaching is personalized.
AK: You currently are the music director for the Empire State Youth Orchestra, which produced its first 360-degree virtual performance of your original composition, “Ay Caray!” What did you learn from that project?
CA: Our main objective at ESYO is to educate, and I think the experience of recording remotely and learning how to participate in this video was transformational for our students. Our goal of positively affecting the world with music and performance is still possible during the pandemic, but it requires adjustment. It’s motivating to see how eager young people are to meet this challenge.
AK: Is the EYSO rehearsing or performing in person now?
CA: Yes, we’ve split the orchestra in to three, socially-distanced chamber orchestras, with the wind and brass musicians taking extra PPE precautions. This modification was exciting to me because I love chamber orchestra repertoire. The smaller format has allowed us to explore more diverse programs, like pieces by George Walker and Jennifer Higdon, both of whom are Curtis alumni.
AK: What non-classical music do you listen to?
CA: It’s funny, I remember as a kid when I would play salsa or tango, my piano teacher would throw a shoe at me saying, “That’s not music!” I never understood this, because to me music is music — it is one absolute thing. My Spotify algorithm freaks out because one day I’ll be listening to Shakira, then Queen, then Mahler, then Lady Gaga, then Bach, then Marilyn Manson. I think that especially in the U.S., where we inherited much of our culture from other places, we are realizing the universalism of music. The more that contemporary composers, and classical musicians, embrace contemporary music and ignore the barriers of genre, the better.
