Biography
Recognized for his inclusive leadership, international reach, and innovative, fresh programming, Colombian-born conductor Sebastián Serrano-Ayala has led professional and student orchestras across the U.S., Latin America, the Philippines, and the Netherlands, blending cultural perspective with artistic excellence.
He is an active guest conductor throughout the Pacific Northwest, having led the Saratoga Orchestra and Skagit Symphony, and held fellowships with Symphony Tacoma, the National Orchestral Institute, the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival, and the Mostly Modern Festival. He has premiered and recorded new works with the American Modern Ensemble in New York, and has served as cover conductor for the Seattle Youth Symphony and Yakima Symphony Orchestra.
Biography
Recognized for his inclusive leadership, international reach, and innovative, fresh programming, Colombian-born conductor Sebastián Serrano-Ayala has led professional and student orchestras across the U.S., Latin America, the Philippines, and the Netherlands, blending cultural perspective with artistic excellence.
He is an active conductor and guest artist, having led the Saratoga Orchestra and Skagit Symphony, and held fellowships with Symphony Tacoma, the National Orchestral Institute, the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival, and the Mostly Modern Festival. He has premiered and recorded new works with the American Modern Ensemble in New York, and has served as cover conductor for the Seattle Youth Symphony and Yakima Symphony Orchestra.
Serrano-Ayala has also appeared with prominent ensembles through international competitions and festivals, conducting the Royal Military Chapel "Johan Willem Friso" at the Dutch International Festival BLOW, The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC, and the Denver Philharmonic as a finalist in their international conducting competition. He was a semi-finalist at the World Music Contest (WMC) Conductors Competition, where he led the Marinierskapel der Koninklijke Marine, Blazerensemble Helicon, and the Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Air Force.
A champion of contemporary and Latin American repertoire, his recent concerts have featured works by Anna Clyne, Grażyna Bacewicz, Victor Agudelo, Sérgio Azevedo, and Adolfo Mejía, performed alongside symphonic staples by Mozart, Ravel, Bartók, and Dvořák. Serrano-Ayala has conducted numerous world and U.S. premieres, including Sérgio Azevedo’s Double Concerto, Florence Maunders’ Badder Gyrations (American premiere), Randall Smith’s Suite Humana, Noah Hertzman’s No Strings Attached, Bradley Kirkendall’s Fallingmere, and Huijuan Ling’s Septa Thresholds. These performances reflect his commitment to amplifying new voices and broadening the orchestral repertoire. In 2025, he was named a finalist for The American Prize in both Orchestral Performance and Conducting.
He most recently served as Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of New Mexico, where he conducted UNM Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia, taught graduate-level conducting, and redesigned the orchestral curriculum to center student artistry and diverse repertoire. At UNM, he collaborated on guest residencies with conductors Michael Sanderling, Colonel Jim Keene, composer Sérgio Azevedo, and soloists including Falko Steinbach, Cármelo de los Santos, Christoph Wagner, Kim Fredenburgh and Kevin Vignau. He frequently works with honor ensembles and educational programs across Washington and New Mexico.
Serrano-Ayala holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind and Orchestral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), a Master of Music from Andrews University, and additional music education degrees from the Adventist University of Colombia and the Philippines. He has studied under Marin Alsop, Mei-Ann Chen, Cristian Măcelaru, JoAnn Falletta, Diane Wittry, Sarah Ioannides, Ankush Kumar Bahl, Mark Heron and others, with mentorship from Anna Edwards, Terence Milligan, and Kevin Holzman.