Mexican conductor and Grammy-winner Carlos Miguel Prieto started his tenure as Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. From 2007 to 2022, he was Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México. In 2023, he received the Fine Arts Medal—Mexico’s highest honor for a musician. He served as Music Director of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra from 2006 to 2023, helping lead the cultural renewal of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and earning a Grammy in 2024.
Since 2008, he has also led the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería (OSM), guiding the ensemble to a Latin Grammy award and residencies at Bravo! Vail in 2024 and 2025. This past summer, he returned to Mexico City to conduct OSM’s summer season, presenting works by Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and Mexican composers including Gabriela Ortiz and Márquez, as well as continuing two ambitious projects: recording the complete works of Revueltas and Ortiz and recording the Beethoven Piano Concertos with Anne-Marie McDermott.
Grant Llewellyn served as North Carolina Symphony’s Music Director for sixteen seasons, from 2004-2020, and held the title of Music Director Laureate from 2020-2024.
Grant Llewellyn is renowned for his exceptional charisma, energy, and easy authority in music of all styles and periods. He concluded his tenure as Music Director of the Orchestre National de Bretagne (ONB) in 2023 after eight years.
In 2024, Sophie Sze-Ki Mok began her tenure as Assistant Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony.
She has also served since 2023 as Assistant Conductor of the Asian Youth Orchestra, where she has worked alongside Joseph Bastian and Jader Bignamini. She has assisted esteemed conductors including Marin Alsop, Jonathon Heyward, Thomas Wilkins, and Tan Dun. Upcoming engagements include serving as cover conductor for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Previously, she was a Conducting Fellow with the Miami Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Frost Symphony Orchestra at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.
