French-Venezuelan conductor Yefren Carrero has received the Conductor Award at the 2026 World Orchestra Festival & Competition Vienna, following his direction of the Orchestre Français de Jeunes Talents in the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein.

Additionally, the orchestra was also awarded First Prize in its category.

Carrero grew up in Venezuela, where he received his early musical training through El Sistema before moving to France to continue his studies without speaking the language. While at the conservatoire, he worked as a delivery rider to support himself as he built a new life in Paris. He became a French citizen in 2023.

His engagement with the Orchestre Français de Jeunes Talents came just weeks before the Vienna competition.

In 2024, Carrero founded Atelier Musical Carrero in Paris as a dedicated space for the further development of this methodology. He has also worked with TUTTI Passeurs d’Arts, using collective music-making as a vehicle for education, inclusion, and social transformation.