BCO Roster

Conductor Ernesto Estigarribia

Hailed for his “expert direction” by the Fanfare magazine, Ernesto Estigarribia is in his third season as the Music Director and Conductor of the Buffalo Community Orchestra. Born and raised in Asunción, Paraguay, Mr. Estigarribia has performed extensively in North and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe both as a violist and conductor. With a passion for working with young musicians, he also serves as Artistic Director of the Southeastern Minnesota Youth Orchestras (SEMYO) and was recently appointed as the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies’ (GTCYS) Sinfonia East conductor. Mr. Estigarribia is working towards a doctoral degree in Orchestral Conducting, studying with Mark Russell Smith at the University of Minnesota where he is a recipient of the James Sample fellowship. At the University, he co-directs Campus Orchestras and serves as Assistant Conductor for the University Symphony Orchestra and the University Opera Theater. He also serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Buffalo Community Orchestra.

His festival appearances include YOA Orchestra of the Americas, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme (England), Festival de Música de Santa Catarina (Brazil), Pienza Music Festival (Italy), International Festival Week of St. Petersburg Conservatory (Russia), and Academia Internacional Teatro del Lago (Chile). In 2016, Ernesto conducted the first recording of the “Concertino for Viola” by Brazilian composer Joao Ripper with violist Korey Konkol. Recent conducting appearances include performances with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Gianni Schicchi and Idomeneo with the University of Minnesota Opera Theater, Orquesta Sinfónica del Congreso Nacional (Paraguay) as the first Paraguayan guest conductor to appear in the orchestra’s main subscription series.

Upcoming conducting engagements include Orquesta del Centro del Conocimiento (Argentina) and his return to the Orquesta Sinfónica del Congreso (Paraguay).

In his spare time, Estigarribia enjoys performing chamber music with his colleagues and expanding his vegan cooking repertoire.

See our past conductors