DR. RICHARD ANTHONY CARRILLO is an accomplished conductor, singer, educator, and researcher with many years of experience. He is an Assistant Professor and DIRECTOR OF CHORAL ACTIVITIES at the UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA, where he leads multiple choirs, teaches undergraduate conducting, graduate courses in choral literature, and private graduate conducting lessons. In his short time at UNO his participation numbers dramatically increased, including his Tenor/Bass Choir which nearly tripled in size after just one year. Carrillo continues to sing professionally and is often heard singing at both ST. CECILIA CATHEDRAL and ST. FRANCIS CABRINI in the Omaha Archdiocese.
In October 2025, Carrillo made his INTERNATIONAL CONDUCTING DEBUT conducting Frank La Rocca's Mass of the Americas at the BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE in MEXICO CITY, celebrating the upcoming 500th anniversary of the apparition. This was followed by a concert version of the Mass at Mexico's SHRINE OF BL. MIGUEL PRO. Both performances were performed with a FESTIVAL CHOIR of singers from across the US and a PROFESIONAL MEXICAN ORCHESTRA AND SOLOIST.
Carrillo is a recipient of the prestigious TINKER FIELD RESEARCH GRANT, which facilitated his initial travel to Mexico City in 2023 to aid in his first mounting of Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas, which was performed with a festival choir of over 100 singers and over 800 people in attendance. This performance included the first known Ave Maria in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs. An incredible achievement, Carrillo received abundant praise for the success of the project.
After connecting with La Rocca to gain his blessing to perform Mass of the Americas, Carrillo was then asked to conduct the world premiere of La Rocca’s Requiem Mass for the Forgotten. A smaller project with 20 singers and a chamber ensemble, this event garnered much media attention and was covered in both national press and international media, with leading stories published by the CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY and NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER and in countries such as Croatia and Australia. The performance was also broadcasted on EWTN, which is not only the largest Catholic television network in America, but reportedly “the world’s largest religious media network”, reaching 425 million people in 160 countries, with 11 networks. EWTN also aired a follow up story about the new Requiem on their show EWTN NIGHTLY NEWS.
Originally from Texas, Carrillo previously sang with the GRAMMY® award winning HOUSTON CHAMBER CHOIR. An avid church musician, he was a member of the professional choirs at the CO-CATHEDERAL OF THE SACRED HAEART in Houston, TX, the NATIONAL SHRINE AND CATHEDRAL OF THE APOSTLE PAUL in St. Paul, MN, the BASILICA OF SAINT MARY in Minneapolis, MN, the CHURCH OF THE EPIPHANY in Miami, FL. He most recently served as the Director of Choirs at Miami’s ST. JOHN NEUMANN CATHOLIC CHURCH. In addition to Carrillo’s musical activities, he also served as a CATHOLIC MISSIONARY from 2009-2012 with NET MINISTRIES, where he performed youth outreach across the US.
During his doctoral studies at the UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI'S FROST SCHOOL OF MUSIC, Carrillo served as the Associate Conducting Fellow with GRAMMY® nominated professional choir SERAPHIC FIRE as well as with the MIAMI CHILDREN'S CHORUS. As a graduate teaching assistant he conducted many of Frost’s ensembles in preparation for performances and recitals, including his own at which he conducted an oft-forgotten mass by the Mexican Baroque composer Manuel de Zumaya.
Prior to his graduate education, Carrillo spent the majority of his nearly 10 years of teaching middle and high school at PROVIDENCE ACADEMY in Plymouth, MN, where his Chamber Choir was invited to perform for the 2016 MINNESOTA MUSIC EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION CONVENTION and the 2018 MIDWEST ACDA REGIONAL CONVENTION.
Carrillo holds a DMA in Choral Conducting from the UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI'S FROST SCHOOL OF MUSIC where he studied with Dr. Amanda Quist, and was named the Most Outstanding Graduate Student in 2023, an MM in Choral Conducting from MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY, where he studied under Dr. Cameron LaBarr and Dr. Erin Plisco, and a BM in Music Education from the MOORES SCHOOL OF MUSIC AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON, where he studied under Dr. Betsy Cook Weber.
Carrillo pictured with the original manuscript of the 1599 Valdéz Codex, containing the earliest known Nahuatl polyphonic music ever recorded
RICHARD CARRILLO
© 2025 Richard Anthony Carrillo
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