BIOGRAPHY
Born in Medellín (Colombia) on October 12, 1992, Cristian Camilo Alvarez Olaya is a Colombian conductor recognized for his refined musicality, artistic commitment, and inspiring presence at the head of the ensembles and orchestras he conducts.
He holds a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (Switzerland), where he studied with Aurélien Azan Zielinski and Bertrand de Billy, and specialized in orchestration under Luca Antignani. In parallel, he earned a Master’s degree in Flute Performance with High Distinction from IMEP in Namur (Belgium), in the class of Denis Pierre Gustin, as well as a certificate in Orchestral Conducting under the guidance of Ayrton Desimpelaere. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Antioquia (Colombia) and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer-Assisted Music from the Metropolitan Technological Institute of Medellín (Colombia).
His career has been supported by several excellence scholarships (HEMU-CL Cultural Foundation, Hilti Foundation, Cartagena Festival) and recognized with the Young Performer Award of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia (2020).
Cristian Camilo has trained with renowned conductors such as John Fiore, Eva Ollikainen, Ruth Reinhardt, Michalis Economou, Kaspar Zehnder, and Guillaume Bourgogne. With the Lausanne Contemporary Music Society, he has taken part in projects in collaboration with composers such as Noriko Baba, Agata Zubel, and Yan Maresz. He has conducted, among others, the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra (Greece), the Ionel Perlea Orchestra of Bucharest (Romania), the Medellín Chamber Ensemble (Colombia), and the University of Almería Orchestra (Spain), in addition to numerous collaborations with ensembles and orchestras in Switzerland.
A versatile musician, Cristian Camilo Alvarez has also developed a career as a flutist, exploring a repertoire ranging from contemporary music to Latin American music. He is a member of the Chao Ensemble, and has appeared in numerous concerts in Switzerland, notably at the Paleo Festival.
In parallel, he brings his versatility to a wide range of projects: choir conducting, music pedagogy, and instrumental performance. In Switzerland, he has conducted the Société de Musique de Fontainemelon-Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, the Choir Les Muettes (Morges), the Choir La Récréation, and the Choir La Vigneronne. As a flutist, he has performed with the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Medellín Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
