Andrés Orozco-Estrada
In autumn 2026, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra started a new era with Andrés Orozco-Estrada as its Music Director. With roots in Colombia, education in Vienna, and extensive experience from some of the world’s leading orchestras, he brings musical brilliance, warmth, and a strong desire to make music accessible to more people.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada has a clear vision: concerts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra should move, inspire, and be accessible to everyone. He aims to create programs that are not only artistically strong but also engage audiences in new ways—preferably through interaction.
Music speaks powerfully on its own, yet sharing a few thoughts with the audience can greatly enrich the experience and foster a sense of connection. I want listeners to feel drawn into the performance and become part of the musical journey - Andrés Orozco-Estrada
He has guest-conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra several times and describes the ensemble as “open, honest, and full of energy.” He made his debut as Music Director with a concert at the Stockholm Culture Festival and the opening concert of the Baltic Sea Festival, conducting works by Anders Hillborg, Alma Mahler, Molly Kien and Igor Stravinsky. The programme reflected his artistic vision for the orchestra: to create concerts that move and inspire.
The search for a new Music Director for the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra has been a thorough process. The choice of Andrés Orozco-Estrada received strong support from the entire orchestra in the final vote among the musicians.
“Andrés combines musical brilliance with an ability to connect with the audience. We believe he has the best conditions to start a new chapter in the story of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra,” says Staffan Becker, General Manager of the Swedish Radio Concert Hall, Berwaldhallen.
As Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Andrés Orozco-Estrada will be a central part of Swedish Radio’s mission to make culture and music accessible to all. With experience from radio orchestras across Europe, he looks forward to developing the orchestra’s role both on the air and digitally.
Our audience—whether in the concert hall or listening on the radio—is at the heart of our existence. With inspiration, energy, and music that touches the soul, we seek to give something back. It is a privilege to continue this great tradition while looking to the future - Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Read moreAndrés Orozco-Estrada has led several prominent orchestras, including the Houston Symphony, and hr-Sinfonieorchester in Frankfurt. He has also served as Music Director of the Vienna Symphony and as guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Upcoming concerts
12–13 March130 - 475 krSpring Fire with Orozco-Estrada & Byström
Spring is lit in Berwaldhallen when Chief Conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada leads the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Choir in...
24–25 March100 - 420 krDiscover Ravel’s Boléro
Welcome to a musical discovery program that leads to one of the most famous rhythms of classical music.
Biography
With his trademark charismatic energy and elegance, Andrés Orozco-Estrada has quickly established himself amongst the top league of international conductors, inspiring musicians and audiences alike.
At the start of the 2026/27 season, he made his debut as Music Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra with a concert at the Stockholm Culture Festival and the opening concert of the Baltic Sea Festival, conducting works by Anders Hillborg, Alma Mahler, Molly Kien and Igor Stravinsky. The programme reflected his artistic vision for the orchestra: to create concerts that move and inspire.
“Making music accessible to everyone is something I care deeply about,” says Orozco-Estrada. “Our audience, whether they are sitting in the concert hall or listening on the radio, is the very reason we exist. We want to give something back through inspiration, energy and music that touches people deeply.”
In Cologne, where Orozco-Estrada has been General Music Director and Gürzenich-Kapellmeister since autumn 2025, the 2026/27 season is marked by the reopening of the opera house. His first new production there will be Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. In his role as a cultural ambassador for the City of Cologne, Orozco-Estrada will travel to Colombia with the Gürzenich Orchestra in February. The tour programme includes Beethoven’s Fidelio and Symphony No. 5.
Alongside his positions in Cologne and Stockholm, the season remains highly varied. In February and March, in his capacity as Music Director of Colombia’s youth orchestra, Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, he will lead the orchestra on an extensive European tour with María Dueñas as soloist. Shortly afterwards, he will conduct the world premiere of Max Richter’s Cello Concerto with the Orchestre de Paris and Gautier Capuçon at the Philharmonie de Paris, followed by a tour of Switzerland with the orchestra and the work. The season concludes with La Bohème at Zurich Opera. Further guest appearances include the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Orozco-Estrada was Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI from 2023 to 2026, Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2022, Principal Conductor of the hr (Hesse Radio) Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2021 and Principal Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 2020 to 2022.
Among the international opera houses where he has appeared are the Vienna State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the Semperoper Dresden and La Scala, Milan. The leading orchestras he has conducted include the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra. In Asia, he has conducted, among others, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada was born in Medellín in Colombia and began studying the violin in his early youth, switching to conducting at the age of fifteen. In 1997 he began a course of study at Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts, where he has been Professor of Orchestral Conducting since 2022.
Upcoming concerts
15–16 October130 - 475 krMozart, Liszt & Dante’s Inferno — med Adès, Keller & Bota
When Thomas Adès conducts the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, a concert awaits where the large-scale visions of romanticism meet the glow of...
21 October100 - 420 krDiscover fin-de-siècle ballet
Through the turn of the century ballet music, a world of rhythms, colours and modernist imagination opens, as Anton Holmer makes his debut with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Gregor Zubicky guides you through the music created for the iconic Swedish Ballet and Ballets Russes in Paris.
22 October100 - 420 krBallet at the turn-of-the-century
When the turn of the century dance scene underwent major changes, a new world of sounds, colours and rhythmic imagination opened. Under the direction of Anton Holmer, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra takes you through a time when ballet moved from playful folk to modernist elegance.
No tickets left24 October180 krHumlan Djojj on an adventure with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
When Humlan Djojj loses his way, he ends up in the middle of Berwaldhallen, surrounded by a live orchestra buzzing like a whole world of insects. Together with his friends and the musicians, Djojj sets off on a playful musical adventure. A warm and interactive concert experience for the whole family, where Djojj’s Grammy-nominated music meets the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.