MCO Biography

The Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (OSUANL) is the principal and only full time professional orchestra in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico’s third largest city.

OSUANL was founded in 1960, as an effort to bring classical music to Monterrey. Since then it has become one of Mexico's most important orchestras and is made up of about 75 musicians from all parts of the world. Most are Mexican nationals but has representatives from Bulgaria, United States, Cuba, Austria, Romania, Japan, and China.

Programming is one of the real joys of the orchestra. Maestro Carrasco generally programs traditional classical work along with balanced portions of contemporary repertoire and some Pops.

The length of the orchestra’s season varies, but usually consists of about 40 concerts in which there are 3 formal seasons and 1 pops season. The orchestra plays at the Teatro Universitario, a new venue that seats 750 people, usually to nearly capacity crowds. In addition to their salary, musicians are covered by the University’s health service which is a full medical and partial dental insurance plan. The workweek is Monday through Thursday. Rehearsals are from 9 AM to 12 PM, with concerts on Thursday nights at 8:30 PM. There is an effort underway to add two more services per week to the schedule, which would mean two concerts per week and another rehearsal.

For more information on the MCO, feel free to contact them directly at osuanl@intercable.net.

FELIX CARRASCO, Musical Director

Mexican conductor Felix Carrasco has conducted almost fifty orchestras in different parts of the world with great success. The countries whose main orchestras he has conducted include Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Portugal and the Czech Republic in Europe. In Africa and the Middle East: Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey. In the Americas: Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the United States of America, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Maestro Carrasco is a preferred guest conductor in the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic and the Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra in Gdansk, Poland and conducts both orchestras frequently.

He has been the Artistic Director of several Austrian and Mexican orchestras, such as: The First Austrian Women’s Chamber Orchestra (1982-1983), The Pro-Arte Orchestra Vienna (1983-1985), The Queretaro Chamber Orchestra (1986-1988), The Orchestra of the Manuel M. Ponce Cultural Society (1987). Additionally he was the Assistant Artistic Director of the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra from 1986 to 1990. In 1991 he was named Artistic Director of the Monterrey Symphony Orchestra and, in 1997, he founded the Monterrey Chamber Orchestra, also as Artistic Director.

As an educator, he has served as Professor on the faculties of three Mexican Universities: The Universities of Nuevo León, Coahuila, and the National University in Mexico City. Felix Carrasco graduated with First Honours from Vienna's famous Hochschule für Musik. There he studied with Karl Österreicher (Conducting), Thomas Christian David (Composition), Harald Goertz (Opera Conducting), and Guenther Theuring (Choral Conducting).

Brownsville Program

Select members of the OSUANL will travel to Brownsville, Texas, next January 25 to perform as the Monterrey Chamber Orchestra (MCO), a smaller orchestral ensemble of 38 members more suitable for touring. The MCO’s Brownsville program will include Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, Manuel M. Ponce’s “Estampas Nocturnas”, and Sergei Prokofiev’s “Classical Symphony”. Click here for more information!