BIO

Íñigo Pirfano (Bilbao 1973), belongs to the emerging generation of conductors who combines the energy of the youth with the maturity of years of experience. He completed his M.A. in Philosophy at Universidad Complutense in Madrid. Then he studied Orchestral, Choral and Opera Conducting in Austria and Germany with Karl Kamper, Karl-Heinz Bloemeke, Sir Colin Davis and Kurt Masur. He was the founder of the ‘Madrid Academic Orchestra’ and its principal conductor for 15 years. For his work leading this orchestra, in 2012 he was awarded with the ‘Young Leadership Award’ by the ‘Rafael del Pino Foundation’ (Spain).

He developes an intense activity as a Guest Conductor in Spain, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Panama in orchestras and choirs such as Hamburger Symphoniker, Szczecin Philharmonic, Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, Nordiska Kammarorkestern, Euskadi Symphony Orchestra, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Orfeón Donostiarra, Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra, Navarra Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia, National Symphony Orchestra of Peru, National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador, Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra, Guayaquil Philharmonic, Cuenca Symphony Orchestra, Boca del Río Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Panama, etc. He has worked with singers such as Ainhoa Arteta, Aquiles Machado, Sylvia Schwartz, María José Montiel, etc. 

Parallel to his career as an orchestra conductor, in recent years he has emerged as a sought-after essayist and speaker. He has published four books: ‘Ebrietas. El Poder de la Belleza’ [Ebrietas: The Power of Beauty] (2012), ‘Inteligencia Musical’ [Musical Intelligence] (2013), ‘Música para leer’ [Music for Readers] (2014) -with a prologue by Plácido Domingo- and ‘Una nueva melodía’ [A new melody] (2023). He is a regular speaker at some of the most important forums of Spain and Latin America, as Fundación Telefónica, Banco Santander, IE Business School, la Caixa, BBVA, International Centre for Leadership Development, IESE Business School, Zurich Group, Davivienda, Janssen Cilag or Fundación Rafael del Pino.

He is currently Artistic Director and Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Guayaquil.