Gracie Carrillo

Graciela “Gracie” Carrillo is a conductor, educator, and advocate for the arts. Her enthusiasm and passion for bridging traditional and contemporary art defines her approach to immersing in art.

Gracie is an active orchestral, wind ensemble, and musical conductor. Her style emulates an illustration of the composers message, texture, and experimentation in respect to creating an immersive impact with the audience.

She actively travels internationally to various masterclasses that have included renowned maestro’s (but not limited to): Markand Thakar, Rei Hotoda, Neil Thomson, Simeon Pironkoff, Gary Hill, and Colonel Michael Colburn.

Gracie is a music educator and director for secondary education. She is part of the lead to create proficiency scales for her district in the music programs. She is also the lead conductor for the drama department in the spring time musicals. Gracie has advocated for funding, grant writing, and opportunities for her students to engage in immersive and eye-opening performance experiences. During her early years with her current position, she implemented a Mariachi program for the community in which the first year had 70 students ballot for the course. Today, the Mariachi resonates with the community as now the feeding junior high will now implement a Mariachi ensemble. In the spring of 2024, Gracie succeeded a grant for a $200,000+ performance tour with the students at the high school. She created a performance tour for band, choir, and drama students to travel from California to New York to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have talk backs with the cast of Wicked, Back to the Future, and engage with creative artists of Wicked. Gracie directs the entire the music program that holds the following courses and ensembles: Band, Mariachi, Choir, Jazz, Piano, Guitar, and Color Guard. Gracie shares her approach to progress and patience, as her studies in education, composition, performance, and business emulate the beauty of crafting the musician with care and delicacy.