We’d like to welcome Carlos Arnasay as the newest committee member for the upcoming Granados Centenary!

Carlos Arnasay (ARCM) studied singing at the Escuela Superior de Canto as well as piano and composition at the Real Conservatorio Superior, both in Madrid, and composition and conducting at the Royal College of Music in London. In Vienna he pursued conducting studies with Jacques Delacôte, a pupil of Hans Swarovsky. He has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, Pilsen Radio Orchestra (Czech Republic), the National Orchestras of Cuba and Peru, SODRE (National Broadcast) Orchestra of Uruguay, Trujillo Symphony Orchestra (Peru), Falcon Symphony Orchestra (Venezuela), etc. His involvement in opera has landed him jobs with the Earls Court arena production of Carmen (in Zurich, Munich and Berlin, with José Carreras leading one of five different casts), Costa Rica Chamber Opera ( national premiere of Suor Angelica), Midsummer Opera, Blackheath Opera, Floral Opera, etc. As an operatic chorus master Carlos has worked with the Ambrosian Opera Chorus (assistant to John McCarthy), Classical Productions Chorus (assistant to Terry Edwards and Simon Joly), Chelsea Opera Group, Midsummer Opera, etc. In 2009 he founded the London Lyric Chorus, which featured in a commercial recording with the Philharmonia Orchestra. In Lima he is music director of the new Dompablo Operetta and Zarzuela Company.

Carlos’s professional chamber choir, Coro Cervantes, was founded in 1995 and is now firmly established as a successful and prestigious group in the UK and Spain. They have released five CDs to date (Guild, Sello Autor, Signum) which have been highly acclaimed in the UK and abroad (Gramophone Critic´s Choice/CDs of The Year, Best Choral CD of 2010/The New CD Show Classic FM, etc) and have performed extensively in Spain, Holland, Mexico, Russia and the UK (Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. John’s Smith Square…). Carlos is a regular guest conductor of the National Choir of Spain, with concerts at the National Auditorium in Madrid and broadcasts on National Spanish Radio.

As a teacher, Carlos works in Latin America since 1999, with regular visits to Mexico, Peru and Cuba. In London he is one of the teachers of the Lacock International Choral Courses (with courses in the UK, Spain and Mexico), Floral Opera Workshops and has also taught Vocal Repertoire and Technique at the City Literary Institute and Spanish and Latin American vocal repertoire at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, besides working as a private voice teacher. Since 2003, he is Music Director and a member of the jury of the Trujillo International Singing Competition (Peru).

He writes and translates for EMI Classics, Naxos, Brilliant, and has been invited on several occasions to BBC radio programs such as In tune and The Choir. He has compiled a top selling CD for the National Gallery in London (The Sacred made Art) and, as a recording producer, he has worked with the Musikene School in San Sebastian and has released the world premiere recording of Juan José, an opera by Pablo Sorozábal. He has worked alongside artists like Harry Christophers and Joyce DiDonato in masterclasses, and is Patricia Petibon´s language coach in her latest CD for Deutsche Grammophon. Carlos has been a member of the Iberian and Latin American Music Society (ILAMS).