‘Every moment of the action was alive...a crisp, dynamic performance…a great career awaits this young conductor.’
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Los Angeles Times
Paolo Bortolameolli firmly believes that music is a transformative force. Recognized as one of the leading conductors in Latin America, he is distinguished by his international career and his
commitment to cultural outreach, expanding access to classical music, and fostering new generations of musicians.
He is Virginia G. Piper Music Director Designate of the Phoenix Symphony, Music Director of the Ópera Nacional de Chile and the Filarmónica de Santiago, and Artistic Partner to
Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín.
Recent and upcoming debuts include Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (OSCyL), Bamberger Symphoniker, Warsaw Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, Dresdner Philharmoniker, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony,
Omaha Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic.
He has ongoing relationships with ensembles such
as Munich Philharmonic,
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic,
Orchestra della Toscana,
Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolivar and Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and works with soloists such as Maria Dueñas, Johannes Moser, Ray Chen,
Pablo Ferrandez, Conrad Tao, Julian Steckel, Pacho Flores, David Fray and Camille
Thomas.
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Ahead of beginning his tenure as Music Director of the Ópera Nacional de Chile and the Filarmónica de Santiago in March 2026, Bortolameolli developed his relationship through productions of Richard Strauss’s Salomé, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly ​and Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims.
His first season’s highlights
include productions of Puccini’s La Bohème, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet (ballet), and Strauss’s Elektra, as well as symphonic programs with guest artists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Jean
Yves Thibault.
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Recent opera productions include Tosca at the Opéra de Paris, Die Zauberflöte at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and Golijov’s Ainadamar at Detroit Opera, as well as performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Ópera Nacional de Chile and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Juvenil (Chilean Premiere).
As now Former Associate Conductor of the LA Philharmonic he led the landmark production of Meredith Monk’s inventive opera ATLAS, performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles in 2019. He is passionately committed to new music, including the works of Miguel Farías, Gabriela Ortiz, and Jorge Peña Hen, among others. In 2022, his commission of Miguel Farías’s Estallido was premiered with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
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Dedicated to expanding the lives of young people through music, his 2022 appointment as Principal
Conductor of the National Youth Symphony Orchestra (OSNJ)—an ensemble he has conducted since 2002 and the oldest in the Foundation for Youth and Children’s Orchestras of Chile
(FOJI)—allowed him to continue what he considers his personal mission: sharing his passion for the
performing arts.
He has introduced large scale collaborations around Mahler’s Symphony No. 8,
marking the Chilean premiere of this monumental work.
A seven-time recipient of the Arts Critics Association Awards for Symphonic and Opera Director of
the Year, he was also named one of Forbes’ “50 Most Creative Chileans” in 2024 and 2026.
In 2025, he became the first classical musician to serve on the jury of the Viña del Mar International Song Festival—the largest Latin music festival in the world—highlighting the connection between popular and classical music and the power of music to unite people. He was a guest speaker at the 2018 TED
Talk in New York, and in 2020 he released his first book, RUBATO: Procesos musicales y una playlist personal.
