Native to Venezuela, Palacios began his music studies at an early age. In 1982, Juan Cristóbal left for the United States to continue and formalize his skills. During those years as a student at Boston and Yale University, he studied under the tutelage of Eiji Oue and Eleazar de Carvalho. During this period, Palacios was involved in the premieres of over fifty contemporary works as well as other canonical orchestral works. In the summers, he attended the Aspen Music Festival and the Pierre Monteux School of Music.
Returning to his homeland, he made his professional debut at age 24, appearing as a guest conductor with the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. Later, in 1993, Palacios was appointed President and Music Director of the Fundación Sinfónica Juvenil de Chacao (Youth Symphony Foundation of Chacao), building one of the most prestigious musical programs in the capital. He designed it for young musicians and integrated various musical disciplines – including solo performance, chamber music, and orchestral playing – to be taught by a group of hand-picked high-level professors. In the program, students would be instructed in every type of instrumental performance to develop a comprehensive understanding of their musical instrument. Palacios was then awarded the order of the first class of “José María y Bote,” the highest artistic award granted by the Mayor’s Office of Chacao.
From 2002 to 2004, Palacios expanded his work as an academic. He served as a professor of music theory at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and as the conductor and music director of its chamber orchestra. His work as a musician in Venezuela was interrupted by the political situation that his country was going through and in 2007, he moved to the United States with his family.
In 2010, he joined the music faculty at the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory, where he was appointed conductor of several ensembles, taught chamber music, assisted with instrumental development, and served as a member of the community music program, Opus.
His role as an educator has led Palacios to work in up-and-coming youth music programs in Guayaquil, Ecuador and the National Institute of Art (NIA) music program in Saint Maarten. Since 2022, Palacios has been the Music Director at ELM (Enriching Lives through Music) in San Francisco, USA. This socio-cultural program provides opportunities for low-income students to learn music and use the tools they’ve acquired to improve their life skills and become better citizens.
