About
Luis Castillo-Briceño is Dudamel Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the 2024/25 season. He was appointed Conducting Fellow of the London Philharmonic Orchestra for 2023/24 season, mentored by Principal Conductor Edward Gardner.
As guest conductor, Luis has appeared with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Heredia (Costa Rica). In 2024/25 he will make his conducting debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sinfonieorchester St Gallen and Philharmonie Luxembourg. Luis continues his relationship with the LPO joining them on their tour of the United States in October 2024 where he will conduct the orchestra for Grace Farms’ Ninth Anniversary Benefit Concert. He made his UK debut conducting the LPO at the Brighton Dome in November 2023 and performed several other concerts with the orchestra during the season.
Named by BBC Music Magazine as a "Rising Star", Luis has been an Equilibrium Young Artist since the season 2020/21, mentored by conductor and singer Barbara Hannigan. He has acted as her assistant with orchestras including the London Symphony, Danish National Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Musikkollegium Winterthur and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.
In 2024 Luis was announced as a designate winner of the Conducting Competition Rotterdam and will be presented in the 2025 competition. Luis was a semi-finalist of the German Conducting Award 2023, where he conducted the WDR Sinfonieorchester and the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln. He served as the artistic director and chief conductor of the Junges Kammerorchester Zürich from 2019-2021. He has also worked with orchestras including Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Romanian Chamber Orchestra, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra and Argovia Philharmonia Orchestra; as well as taking part in masterclasses with Cristian Măcelaru, Marin Alsop, Nicolas Pasquet, Jorma Panula, and others.
Luis started his musical studies at the age of five with the violin, at the National Conservatory of Music of Costa Rica. At age eleven, he started to study flute at the same institution, becoming the principal flutist of the Orquesta Sinfonica Infantil de Costa Rica. Luis also holds a bachelor’s degree in piano from the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, where he studied with Prof. Eckart Heiligers.
He has been studying conducting under the guidance of renowned Prof. Mark Stringer, as well as Opera Coaching with Prof. Andreas Henning at the Universtität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. At the same time he also studied organ at the Konservatorium für Kirchenmusik St. Pölten with Prof. Michael Kitzinger. Luis is currently pursuing a Specialized Masters in orchestral conducting at the ZHdK (Zurich) with Prof. Christoph-Mathias Mueller and Prof. Johannes Schlaefli.
As guest conductor, Luis has appeared with orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Athens Philharmonia Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Heredia (Costa Rica). In 2024/25 he will make his conducting debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sinfonieorchester St Gallen and Philharmonie Luxembourg. Luis continues his relationship with the LPO joining them on their tour of the United States in October 2024 where he will conduct the orchestra for Grace Farms’ Ninth Anniversary Benefit Concert. He made his UK debut conducting the LPO at the Brighton Dome in November 2023 and performed several other concerts with the orchestra during the season.
Named by BBC Music Magazine as a "Rising Star", Luis has been an Equilibrium Young Artist since the season 2020/21, mentored by conductor and singer Barbara Hannigan. He has acted as her assistant with orchestras including the London Symphony, Danish National Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Musikkollegium Winterthur and Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne.
In 2024 Luis was announced as a designate winner of the Conducting Competition Rotterdam and will be presented in the 2025 competition. Luis was a semi-finalist of the German Conducting Award 2023, where he conducted the WDR Sinfonieorchester and the Gürzenich-Orchester Köln. He served as the artistic director and chief conductor of the Junges Kammerorchester Zürich from 2019-2021. He has also worked with orchestras including Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, MÁV Symphony Orchestra, Romanian Chamber Orchestra, Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra and Argovia Philharmonia Orchestra; as well as taking part in masterclasses with Cristian Măcelaru, Marin Alsop, Nicolas Pasquet, Jorma Panula, and others.
Luis started his musical studies at the age of five with the violin, at the National Conservatory of Music of Costa Rica. At age eleven, he started to study flute at the same institution, becoming the principal flutist of the Orquesta Sinfonica Infantil de Costa Rica. Luis also holds a bachelor’s degree in piano from the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, where he studied with Prof. Eckart Heiligers.
He has been studying conducting under the guidance of renowned Prof. Mark Stringer, as well as Opera Coaching with Prof. Andreas Henning at the Universtität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. At the same time he also studied organ at the Konservatorium für Kirchenmusik St. Pölten with Prof. Michael Kitzinger. Luis is currently pursuing a Specialized Masters in orchestral conducting at the ZHdK (Zurich) with Prof. Christoph-Mathias Mueller and Prof. Johannes Schlaefli.