Conductor, composer and music programmer from Buenos Aires, Argentina; Francisco Varela is committed to widening the traditional repertoire and helping local orchestras overcome the 21th century challenges.
Recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, he graduated with honors from the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA) and holds a Masters in Conducting from PennState University in the US. His mentors were Guillermo Scarabino, Gerardo Edelstein, Marta Lambertini, Julio Viera and Pablo Cetta. He has also worked with Marin Alsop, Harold Farbermann, Charles Dutoit, Pedro Calderón, Jordi Mora and Gerardo Gandini.
As an advocate for orchestral institutions and symphonic music he has worked as advisor for the National Culture Ministry of Argentina, the IBERMÚSICAS international program, and created the first Argentinean Symphonic Orchestras Forum in 2016. He was appointed Artistic and General Manager of the National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina (2017-2021) and is currently leading RIOS (Iberoamerican Symphony Orchestras Network) a project he created in 2021. Besides, he works as Artistic Director for several classical music series and festivals in Argentina.
His recordings include the “Symphonic Poems and Variations” of Cesar Franck with Fabio Banegas (piano) and the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine for Guild Music label (UK), and the premiere recording of works by Spanish-Argentinean composer Eduardo Grau (1919-2006) with Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra (Hungary) for Naxos Music Group.
Francisco Varela’s music has been published by Melos Editorial. He has focused mainly in instrumental music, from chamber to symphonic works. A frequent guest conductor, Francisco Varela takes advantage of these opportunities to feature new, neglected and commissioned works from the rich and unique music legacy of his native Argentina and Latin-America.