Lina Gonzalez-Granados

(Photo : Seattle Symphony/James Holt)

Lina Gonzalez-Granados will be the first Colombian woman, and one of the first Latin Americans, to hold a conducting position with the Seattle Symphony. 

Lina Gonzales-Granados was born and raised in Cali, Colombia. Her parents encouraged her to learn the piano at a young age as a way to keep her home and safe during Colombia's protracted civil war. 

An extroverted child, Lina was never satisfied playing the piano. She began signing in a choir but found her element when she started conducting.

Her conducting debut was with the Youth Orchestra of Bellas Artes in 2008 in her hometown of Cali.

She moved from Cali to New York for an undergraduate exchange year in Julliard in 2010.

She earned her Master's Degree in Conducting and a Graduate Diploma in Choral Conducting from New England Conservatory. She is also pursuing her Doctoral degree in Orchestral Conducting at Boston University. 

In 2014, she founded the Unitas Ensemble which is a Boston-based orchestra specializing in Latin American music. Her work with the Unitas Ensemble earned her a release of the Unitas Ensemble album "Estaciones". She also received multiple World, North-American and American premieres. 

In 2016, she earned her recognition as one of the "Latino 30 Under 30" by El Mundo Newspaper. 

Lina Gonzales-Granados is often praised for her "attention to orchestral colors" and her ability to create "lightning changes in tempo, meter, and effect."

Last year, she joined a competition where she and 50 other young conductors vied for a position at Seattle Symphony. Six finalists were chosen to move forward and compete in a jury process similar to a conduction competition. 

She was chosen as a conducting fellow. 

President and CEO of Seattle Symphony Krishna Thiagarajan said Gonzalez-Granados' artistry on stage and her ideas on the importance of reaching all communities was ultimately what led them to offer her one of the positions. 

As a conducting fellow for the 2019-2020 season, she will spend several weeks with the orchestra. She will assist the conductor and also serve as the cover conductor who will take over if a concert conductor is unable to perform. 

Gonzalez-Granados will lead her own performances such as her [untitled] 2 concert on February 28 and participate in special projects.

The [untitled] series is critically acclaimed. It explores new and contemporary works in an informal atmosphere. [Untitled] 2 will see the performance of works from four leading contemporary Latin American composers.

Lina also holds a fellowship at Philadelphia Orchestra and completed the two-year Taki Concordia Fellowship for women conductors this season. 

"In Seattle, I have more community engagement projects," she said of her work with Seattle Symphony.

Gonzalez-Granados holds a place among the 9.2% of all female US orchestral music directors. 

Lina aims to promote the classical music of Latin America. "Latin American composers are very strong," she said. "In the last 10 years, Colombia has grown a young orchestra movement with a system of great teachers and universities."

She is set to take the helm for the "Wonder Woman" family concert on February 22 where music by Boulanger, Beach, and Price will be played.

"Conducting gives me a connection I never felt in other activities," she said. "For me, it is a two-way conversation. I want to share always dynamic communication with the orchestra."