Los Angeles Times“A show of raw power, an aural force to glue you to your seat.”
Chicago Sun-Times“[González-Granados] emphasized the lyrical sweep of Beethoven’s music, integrating its shifting emotions into a cohesive whole… and the soaring, romantic melodies of Brahms’s Symphony No. 1 were an ideal showcase for Gonzalez-Granados’s ability to sculpt rich, heartfelt orchestral sound.”
Backtrack“In her Opera Philadelphia debut, conductor Lina González-Granados brought out a sweeping grandeur in the orchestra when necessary, but her approach was most notable for threading a seamless narrative needle across the cantata’s seven movements.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer“She has clear technique and a way with phrase-shaping that tells a compelling story — qualities that make a good case for her return in other repertoire.”
San Francisco Classical Voice“Indeed, as presented by Los Angeles Opera, the urgency and in-your-face elements of an octet of singers and a 13-piece LAO ensemble, insightfully led by Resident Conductor Lina González-Granados, gave new meaning to the words intimacy, clarity, and beauty, all wrapped in a damning and brutal storyline.”
Praised for her “rich, heartfelt orchestral sound” (Chicago Sun-Times), “rhythmic vitality” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “raw power” (LA Times), Colombian American conductor Lina González-Granados has distinguished herself nationally and internationally as a singular talent. Her spectacular interpretations of the symphonic and operatic repertoire, as well as her dedication to highlighting new and unknown works by Latin American composers, have earned her international recognition. Most recently, she was named one of Bloomberg Línea’s 100 Influential Latinos of 2022. She is also the recipient of the 2021 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, the Third Prize and ECHO Special Award (European Concert Hall Organization) of La Maestra Competition, and the 2020 and 2021 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award.
After winning the Fourth Chicago Symphony Orchestra Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition, Lina was named the Solti Conducting Apprentice, and served as the assistant to Maestro Riccardo Muti from February 2020 through June 2023. In the fall of 2022, she was appointed Resident Conductor by the LA Opera, a post she will hold through June 2025. She has also previously held positions as the Inaugural Conducting Fellow of the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as the Conducting fellow of the Seattle Symphony.
Lina’s 2024-25 season starts with an extensive tour across Colombia with Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, followed by debuts with the Minnesota Orchestra; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic; the Phoenix, New Jersey, and National Dublin Symphonies; as well as National Arts Center Ottawa. Lina will be conducting the finale of the Sphinx Competition in January 2025 as well as return to Chicago Symphony and San Antonio Philharmonic. At the Los Angeles Opera, she will be conducting several captivating performances throughout the season, including Romeo and Juliette in the fall; she will lead the production of Golijov’s Ainadamar in the spring of 2025.
Recent highlights include debuts with Opera Philadelphia, the Orchestre Metropolitain, Indianapolis, Atlanta and New World Symphonies, Sarasota Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Galicia. During her tenure at LA Opera, Lina lead a highly acclaimed production of Britten’s Rape of Lucretia with LA Opera — which San Francisco Classical Voice called an “insightfully led” performance which “gave new meaning to the words intimacy, clarity, and beauty, all wrapped in a damning and brutal storyline” — and El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, the LA Opera rendition of a new musical portrait from GRAMMY-winning composer Gabriela Lena Frank, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz.
Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, Lina made her conducting debut in 2008 with the Youth Orchestra of Bellas Artes. She holds a master’s degree in conducting with Charles Peltz, a graduate diploma in choral conducting from New England Conservatory with Erica Washburn, and a doctor of musical arts in orchestral conducting from Boston University. Her principal mentors include Riccardo Muti, Yannick Nézet- Séguin, Bernard Haitink, Bramwell Tovey, and Marin Alsop.
JULY 2024