Carlos Miguel Prieto began his tenure as music director of the North Carolina Symphony at the beginning of the 2023–24 season, and was previously music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México and the Louisiana Philharmonic, where he helped lead the cultural renewal of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. In 2008 he was appointed music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, which he led to a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Album.

Recent highlights include engagements with the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, London Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Hallé Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Spanish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Strasbourg Philharmonic, and Auckland Philharmonia. He made his BBC Proms debut at Royal Albert Hall last year, and made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 2022.

Born in Mexico, Mr. Prieto is renowned for championing Latin American music as well as his dedication to new music. He has conducted more than 100 world premieres of works by Mexican and American composers, many of which were commissioned by him. He places equal importance on championing works by Black and African American composers including Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Courtney Bryan, among others.

Mr. Prieto has an extensive discography on Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, and Sony. He was recognized by Musical America as the 2019 Conductor of the Year, and graduated from Princeton and Harvard.

Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores is a first-prize winner at the Maurice André International Trumpet Competition, Philip Jones International Competition, and Cittá di Porcia International contest, in addition to being awarded a gold medal by the Global Music Awards for his album Entropía. His most recent recording for Deutsche Grammophon, Estirpe, was nominated in three categories at the Latin Grammy Awards.

Recent highlights include a Hollywood Bowl debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, a season-long residency with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and solo appearances with the Minnesota Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, NHK Symphony, and Simón Bolívar Symphony. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in November 2022.

Trained in the El Sistema music education program in Venezuela, Flores is a founding member of the Simón Bolívar Brass Quintet and former principal trumpet of the Simón Bolívar Symphony. He is dedicated to fostering the next generation of trumpet players and is founding director of the Latin-American Trumpet Academy in Venezuela. He is a Stomvi artist, performing exclusively on trumpets that have been developed and built for his performances, and records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon.
 

Canción de Obsidiana was created in 1989 by its director, Victor-Mario Zaballa. The ensemble strives to create an atmospheric landscape of timeless sounds with original compositions incorporating traditional Mexican hand-made acoustic indigenous instruments and electronic musical instruments. The wind and percussion instruments are replicas of pre-Columbian pieces from museum collections made by Mr. Zaballa. The ensemble has performed at Lincoln Center, Theater of the New City in New York, deYoung Museum, Mexican Museum, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, The Lab in San Francisco, Monterey World Music Festival, Tucson Museum of Art, and Oakland Museum.