Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Andrés Orozco-Estrada, General Music Director of the City of Cologne and Gürzenich-Kapellmeister, is a musician who stands out for his energy, elegance, and esprit. His deep understanding of music and precise technique, coupled with an exuberant joy in music and making music together, make his concerts an experience for every audience.
Born in Medellín, Colombia, Andrés Orozco-Estrada began his musical training on the violin. At the age of 15, he received his first conducting lessons and in 1997 went to study with Uroš Lajovic at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where he has held a professorship in orchestral conducting since 2022.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada was, among other things, Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra (2014–2022), Principal Conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra (2014–2021) and Principal Conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai (2023– 2026). At the beginning of the 2026/27 season, he will take up the position of Principal Conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He regularly guest conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. He is also a frequent guest at the Berlin and Vienna State Operas, the Salzburg Festival, and the Lucerne Festival.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada is deeply committed to promoting young talent. With his two youth orchestras, the Filármonica Joven de Colombia and the Orquesta Sinfónica Freixenet de la Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía, he regularly goes on tour and conducts various projects in Colombia and Spain. A special highlight of the 2026/27 season is a major European tour with the Filármonica Joven de Cólombia. In Cologne, too, promoting young talent is an important part of Andrés Orozco-Estrada's work. In his first season in Cologne, he initiated a multi-year collaboration with the Kronberg Academy.
With the Gürzenich-Orchestra, Andrés Orozco-Estrada is placing a musical focus on the orchestra's great tradition in the German Romantic repertoire. He is particularly keen to strengthen the orchestra's ties with Cologne and to inspire all Cologne residents to enjoy music.