ADRIÁN VARELA
Conductor
Adrián brings over two decades of live, global touring and recording experience as 1st violinist with the Philharmonia Orchestra to his conducting, a role in which he feels more naturally capable of making a meaningful artistic and social contribution.
Adrián is a regular Guest Conductor of the London City Orchestra, with whom he made his Sinfonia Smith Square debut in 2025 conducting Strauss. He has had the privilege of assisting Ryan Bancroft.
In 2024 Adrián conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra on a groundbreaking first tour of a major international symphony orchestra to Mauritius, uniting the Orchestra with the nation's two choirs. He also conducted the Benedetti Sessions in Perth, collaborating with Nicola Benedetti, the Ayoub sisters, the BS team, and hundreds of children of all ages across several performances,​​​
The seeds for his inspiring, empathetic music-making, however, were planted decades earlier while hammering the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve 1989 during a European tour of the JM World Youth Orchestra.
Adrián served as the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Polish National Youth Orchestra POM LYO from 2015 to 2021, leading international tours across Poland and Germany, along with annual live broadcasts on National Polish Radio NOSPR. He also co-founded and held the same positions with the One Tree Hill Sinfonia, a semi-professional orchestra in London.
Known for his innovative programming and efforts in audience development, Adrián has worked to make music more accessible. His achievements include receiving a first-ever Arts Council England National Lottery Grant for the pandemic-era film 'Songs of Isolation,' which connects audiences, performers and visual artists.
​Adrián and Sheku Kanneh-Mason in rehearsal
Adrián studied engineering at university before having an epiphany halfway through an algebra lecture, Following this, Adrián conducted acclaimed public runs of opera in his native Uruguay, including Mozart’s ‘Bastian und Bastienne’ and Purcell’s ‘Dido & Aeneas’, winning early praise from the national media: ‘Fantastic: everything seems right, and by design. The choir sounds splendid. The orchestra, effective, top-grade. Unmissable; a crown to end the season’ (La Mañana). He later trained at the Royal Academy of Music, London earning Postgraduate, Pedagogy and Master's degrees.​
​Adrián studied conducting with Montenegro, an erstwhile protégé of Celebidache, with whom he learned to combine the Romanian's philosophical approach with the grounded technique of Ceccato. His first contact with conducting, aged 15, was with the late Lorin Maazel at Interlochen, USA. Maazel would become his main reference over nearly two decades, simultaneously while as 1st violinist in the Philharmonia Orchestra, and privately as an unofficial mentor. Other renowned conductors who have generously given Adrián their time, advice, and encouragement over the years, are Salonen, Jarvi, Hrusa, Steffens, and Rouvali.
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Adrian Partington, Director of the BBC National Chorus of Wales, has described Adrián as ‘one of the most inspirational musicians I have ever worked with.’