Music Director

A Message from Max Bragado-Darman

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Monterey Symphony. We are pleased that you have found our website which provides more information on our next performances. Please click here for the latest information.

Welcome to our 2011-2012 Season of Fantasy, Stories and Tales. John Steinbeck understood that great stories must be tied to everyday places, people and ideas. In the Spirit of Steinbeck, we hope that our story and the concerts we perform reflect the diversity and richness of our region. Join this abundant harvest of musical masterpieces, climb the heights of emotion, and share in the grand vistas these works present. We invite you to hear your orchestra perform great music, LIVE!

All the best,
Max Bragado-Darman, Music Director and Conductor

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Max Bragado-Darman,
Music Director and Conductor of the Monterey Symphony

Max Bragado-Darman has served as the Music Director and Conductor of the Monterey Symphony since July 2004. Mr. Bragado-Darman was Music Director and Conductor of the Symphony orchestra of Castile and León in Valladolid, Spain, for nine years. From its formation in 1991, he built it into one of the most prestigious orchestras in Spain. Under his direction, the orchestra performed for enthusiastic audiences in all the major cities of Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany. He recorded with this ensemble many unknown works of the Spanish repertoire as well as most of the orchestral works of Turina and Rodrigo on the Naxos label.

In May 1995, Max Bragado-Darman was appointed Music Director and Conductor of The Louisville Orchestra. Under his direction, the orchestra grew in popularity due to his rapport with audiences, the community in general, and his innovative programming. He has worked with distinguished artists such as Alicia de Larrocha, Teresa Berganza, Horacio Gutièrrez, Elmar Oliveira, Dubravka Tomsic, Andre Watts, Angel Romero, Gary Graffman, and Aaron Rosand among many others.

As a guest conductor, Max Bragado-Darman has performed in the United States with the symphony orchestras of Honolulu, San Diego, Nashville, Delaware, West Virginia, Cedar Rapids, Savannah, Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Austin, Fresno, and Boulder. He has led the National Orchestra, the Radio Television Orchestra and most other orchestras of Spain, as well as orchestras in Portugal, England, Argentina, Germany, and Mexico. In the fall of 2003, he made his debut at the distinguished Wexford Opera Festival with the Granados opera “Maria del Carmen,” in a version he researched and edited himself.

His conducting career has been guided by the knowledge he received from teachers and musicians such as Robert Fountain, Robert Baustian, George Szell, Igor Markevich and Franco Ferrara.

Most recently, Max Bragado-Darman has appeared on the podiums of orchestras in Monterrey, Mexico and Mexico City. In the spring of 2009, in the heart of Andalucia he took on the challenge of presenting a fusion of flamenco and classical music featuring a pianist, guitarist, dancer, and full symphony orchestra. He has been the conductor for the prestigious “Iturbi Piano Competition” in Valencia, Spain for the last two editions.

Max and Mary Bragado have two children: Julio who is a dancer with The American Ballet Theatre and Ilia who teaches dance in Valladolid, Spain and is married to José Manuel Concejo. They have two sons, two year old Max and 8 month old Alejandro. Both are enchanted with “Abuelito” and “Granny.”