Born in Madrid (Spain), Carlos Leal Cardín began his musical studies in Guadalajara with professors Ángel Luis Quintana and Suzana Stefanovic and continued his training at the Conservatorio Superior de Salamanca with Aldo Mata. Fascinated by Early Music, he obtained his Master’s degrees from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (Netherlands) and Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (Switzerland) under the tutelage of Lucia Swarts and Christophe Coin, respectively. Additionally, he has received classes from other distinguished musicians such as Anner Bylsma, for whom he played on the occasion of his 80th birthday.

In recent years, Carlos has collaborated with Freiburger Barockorchester, Nederlandse Bachvereniging, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, B’rock Orchestra, Vox Luminis, and Capriccio Barockorchester, working alongside musicians such as Kristian Bezuidenhout, Jos van Veldhoven, René Jacobs, Iván Fischer, and Shunske Sato. Previously, he was an academist and collaborator with the National Orchestra of Spain (ONE) and the Residentie Orkest of The Hague, as well as a member of the Spanish National Youth Orchestra (JONDE). Carlos has performed in some of the most important venues and festivals in a dozen European and American countries: the international festivals of Granada and Santander, FeMAS, Quincena Musical Donostiarra, Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato (Mexico), Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, National Music Auditorium in Madrid, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Tonhalle in Zurich, Berlin’s Philharmonie, etc. He has recorded works by Schubert, Bach, and Purcell on CD, in addition to several productions for allofbach.com.

Active in various musical fields, Carlos is a founding member of El Gabinete de Música and other chamber music groups, was a professor at the Young Talent School of the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and between 2018 and 2023 organised the Academia de polifonía española, a summer course at the University of Alcalá. He is the president and founder of the Asociación Alonso Mudarra of Guadalajara.