Pablo Heras-Casado

Pablo Heras-Casado (born 21 November 1977, Granada, Spain) is a Spanish conductor. The son of a retired police officer, he began singing with a school choir at age 7 and piano lessons at age 9. He studied music at the conservatory in Granada. He later attended the Universidad de Granada, concentrating on art history and acting. He studied conducting further at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares. His conducting teachers have included Harry Christophers and Christopher Hogwood.

In the mid-1990s, Heras-Casado participated in the founding of the early music ensemble Capella Exaudi. At the Universidad de Granada, he helped found the ensemble SONÓORA, with a focus on modernist and avant-garde music. In 2000/01, he was an assistant conductor with the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España. He founded the Barroca de Granada Orchestra in 2002. In 2004, he established an "International Choral Conducting Masterclass" in Valle de Ricote (Murcia). In 2006/07, he was an assistant conductor with the Opéra de Paris. In 2007, Heras-Casado cofounded La Compañía Teatro del Principe, a period instrument ensemble based in Aranjuez, Spain which focuses on neglected operas of the Spanish baroque era. His work in contemporary music has included conducting the world premieres of Marc-Olivier Dupin's ballet Les enfants du paradis for Opéra National de Paris (2008) and of the opera Matsukaze by Toshio Hosokawa (2011).

Outside of Spain, Heras-Casado made his US debut in June 2008 with the Ensemble ACJW at Carnegie Hall, New York. His UK debut followed in August 2008 with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Heras-Casado first conducted the Orchestra of St. Luke's in the summer of 2011. In December 2011, the orchestra announced the appointment of Heras-Casado as its principal conductor, with immediate effect, and with an initial contract through 2015. In May 2014, the orchestra announced the extension of his contract through the 2016/17 season. He made is debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2013 conducting Michael Mayer's production of Rigoletto. In September 2014, he was appointed the next principal guest conductor of the Teatro Real in Madrid, with an initial contract of 3 seasons over the period 2015-2018. In 2016 seasons he debuted with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

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