Andrés Franco continues to delight audiences with his imaginative programming and energetic style. A frequent guest conductor in the U.S., Europe, and South America, Mr. Franco has appeared with the symphonies of Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Indianapolis, Omaha, and St. Louis; the philharmonic orchestras of Boise and Oklahoma City; and the Chicago Sinfonietta. Worldwide, he has conducted the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León/Spain, the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, Bogotá Philharmonic, Medellin Philharmonic, and EAFIT Symphony Orchestra in Colombia. 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 has also served as Associate, then Resident Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony, and Music Director of the Philharmonia of Kansas City.
Andrés Franco is dedicated to preserving and performing the music of the Americas. As Principal Conductor of Caminos del Inka, he has led many performances of works by Latin American composers, such as Jimmy López, Diego Luzuriaga, and Argentine composer, Astor Piazzolla.
From 2020 to 2023, Mr. Franco served as Executive Director of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, an organization devoted to building a just community by protecting and celebrating free expression. City of Asylum is the largest exiled writer sanctuary in the world and a cultural organization that presents more than 150 free programs annually.
Born into a musical family, Andrés Franco began piano studies with his father, Jorge Franco. An accomplished pianist, he studied with Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Jose Feghali, and attended piano workshops with Rudolph Buchbinder in Switzerland and Lev Naumov in France. He 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, as well as 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.