Ágreda first came to international attention when he reached the third round in the Cadaqués Orchestra International Conducting Competition at the age of 22. He was formerly a conducting fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music under the mentorship of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and later became Music Director of the Empire State Youth Orchestra in Schenectady, New York. Most recently, Carlos Ágreda was selected as a Designate Winner in the first edition of the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam, where he conducted the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Sinfonia Rotterdam.  

Carlos Ágreda conducted leading orchestras in his home country, including the Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá and Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín, and he recently conducted the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia at the Rheingau Musik Festival in Germany, stepping in at the last minute to conduct the orchestra’s 2022 Colombia National Tour. Past appearances include Opera Philadelphia, Manchester Camerata, BBC Philharmonic and Curtis Opera Theater. He has worked closely with world-renowned conductors Juanjo Mena, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Cristian Măcelaru, Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Andrew Davis and Leonard Slatkin, to name a few.   

Ágreda has lived in Colombia, England, the United States and Germany. He was born in Bogotá, where he studied conducting, piano and composition at Juan N. Corpas University. He holds a master’s degree from the prestigious conducting program at the Royal Northern College of Music. He also holds a post-baccalaureate diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music. Ágreda’s repertoire and musical interests range from not only the vast spectrum of symphonic music across the Classical and Romantic eras and the 20th century, but also opera, choral music, contemporary music, electronic music, improvisation and music from the Americas. Carlos Ágreda’s approach to new music has been developed not only by being an award-winning composer, but also by collaborating with numerous composers and conducting more than 30 world premieres as well as performing in new-music festivals.