![](https://paw.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/styles/portrait_feature/public/images/content/Prince-PrietoUSETHIS0173_0.jpg?itok=RSYPaeE7)
Michael Falco/Black Star
FACING THE MUSIC: Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto ’87’s musical accomplishments are many; among them, he serves as music director of four orchestras — including the Louisiana Philharmonic and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México — and was named Musical America magazine’s 2019 Conductor of the Year. Here, he works with young musicians at Carnegie Hall. “From a technical point of view, conducting is challenging,” says Prieto, who can trace his family’s musical roots back to the early 1900s. “But from an intellectual point of view it is a never-ending challenge.”