Conductor, composer and violinist Darwin Aquino has performed throughout the US, Europe and Latin America. His presence as a Latinx artist in multiples stages is a bright light for diversity, equity, and inclusion in classical music.
Darwin was recently appointed Conductor for the New Works Collective with Opera Theater of St. Louis and Music Director of the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, he also serves as Conductor-in-Residence for the Washington University Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Gateway Festival Orchestra’s Summer Seasons.
Darwin has enjoyed regular engagements the Philharmonishes Staatsorchester Mainz, Saarländisches Staatsorchester in Germany, The Cleveland Opera, National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, ADCA Symphony Orchestra in New York, Chicago Summer Opera, Filarmónica Boca del Rio in Mexico, Caribbean Lyric Festival, Missouri Festival for the Arts, Alfredo Saint Malo Festival Orchestra in Panama, FIU Symphony Orchestra in Miami, among others. He has also cover conducted the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Youth Symphony Orchestra, Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Americas (OA).
He has appeared as guest conductor for the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the St. Louis Ballet (Giselle) and the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis; guest composer for the San Francisco Civic Orchestra and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Heredia in Costa Rica. Other engagements included the Florida Grand Opera, Missouri Symphony Orchestra, Ashland Symphony Orchestra in Ohio and the Caribbean Lyric Festival.
Previous positions include Music Director for Winter Opera St. Louis,Director of Orchestral Studies University of Missouri St. Louis, Assistant Conductor Florida Grand Opera, Director National Conservatory of Music Dominican Republic, Assistant Conductor Palm Beach Symphony, Composer in Residence Dominican National Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director El Sistema DR , and holds a masters of music degree in orchestral conducting from the Florida International University, studying with Gzregorz Nowak.
As a composer, Darwin’s compositions have enjoyed performances with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Juilliard School in New York City, the Illinois Modern Ensemble at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the Latin American Music Festival in Venezuela, and the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.