Oto Carrillo was appointed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) horn section by Daniel Barenboim in 2000.
A native of Guatemala, Carrillo grew up in Chicago, admiring the CSO
and its wonderful horn section while receiving a bachelors degree in
music performance from DePaul University and a masters degree in both
music performance and musicology from Northwestern University. His
teachers were Jon Boen, principal horn of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and
Gail Williams, former associate principal of the CSO. After graduating,
he won positions with the Memphis and Cedar Rapids orchestras, and was
able to continue playing in Chicago for two seasons as a member of the
Civic Orchestra, coached by Dale Clevenger. He also has performed with
the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Metropolitana Orchestra of
Lisbon, Portugal as well as having had featured roles in Chicago based
ensembles such as the Chicago Sinfonietta, Music of the Baroque, the
Chicago Philharmonic, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In addition, Oto
has played in various summer festivals with such orchestras as the
National Repertory Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute, the
Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the Grant Park Orchestra, the Mostly
Mozart Festival in Woodstock, Illinois, and the Grand Teton Music
Festival Orchestra. Prior to his appointment to the CSO, Carrillo held
positions in the South Bend and Southwest Michigan Symphony
Orchestras.
Oto has collaborated with numerous chamber groups such as the Chicago
Chamber Musicians, musicians from the MusicNow series, and was a member
of the Millar Brass Ensemble whose performances have been recorded on
the Delos and Koss labels. In addition, Carrillo has been a soloist with
various groups in and outside the Chicago area performing works by
Bach, Strauss, and Mozart, as well as giving the Chicago premiere of
Augusta Read Thomas Silver Chants the Litanies for horn and chamber
orchestra. He has collaborated with his colleagues in the CSO horn
section to perform Schumanns Concertstucke for Four Horns with the
Chicago Youth Symphony, the Civic Orchestra, and most recently, the
CSO.
As an instructor, Carrillo has given many master classes at various
institutions. Currently, he is on faculty at DePaul University and the
Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific (SOAP), a unique summer
training program for aspiring young orchestral musicians set in British
Columbia.
Outside of playing, Carrillo enjoys the company of his wife Sarah, a
free-lance trumpet player, and their two children, Lucas and Isabelle.
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