| Enrico Lopez-Yañez | |
| Landscape: | ! |
| Genre: | Classical |
| Occupation: | Conductor, Composer, Arranger, Producer |
| Years Active: | 1996–Present |
| Associated Acts: | Nashville Symphony |
Enrico Lopez-Yañez is the Principal Pops Conductor of the Nashville Symphony,[1] Pacific Symphony,[2] Principal Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Presents[3] and Principal Pops Conductor Designate of the Detroit Symphony.[4]
Enrico Lopez-Yañez is currently the Principal Pops Conductor of the Nashville Symphony,[5] Pacific Symphony,[6] and Principal Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Presents.[7] Lopez-Yañez was also named the Principal Pops Conductor Designate of the Detroit Symphony,[8] a position which he will begin in the 2024-25 season. Lopez-Yañez has led performances with artists such as Nas,[9] Toby Keith,[10] Trisha Yearwood,[11] The Beach Boys,[12] Ben Rector,[13] Cody Fry, Stewart Copeland,[14] Kenny Loggins,[15] Renée Elise Goldsberry,[16] and the Marcus Roberts Trio.[17] Lopez-Yañez moved to Nashville following two seasons as Assistant Conductor with the Omaha Symphony.[18] In the summer of 2016, Lopez-Yañez served as Assistant Conductor to Christoph Eschenbach and Valery Gergiev for the National Youth Orchestra of the United States's[19] Carnegie Hall, New York state, and European tour performances.
Lopez-Yañez has made appearances with orchestras throughout North America, including the Detroit Symphony,[20] Minnesota Orchestra,[21] San Diego Symphony,[22] Utah Symphony,[23] San Francisco Symphony,[24] Florida Orchestra,[25] and Seattle Symphony,[26] among others. Additionally, Lopez-Yañez maintains an active role as an operatic conductor having served as Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master for the Berkshire Opera Festival.[27] [28] He has led opera gala concerts in San Diego[29] and Aguascalientes (Mexico),[30] productions of Daniel Catán's Rappaccini's Daughter (opera)[31] [32] with Chicago Opera Theater and Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly with Main Street Opera in Chicago, and served as Assistant Conductor for Opera Omaha's production of La Boheme.[33]
A major advocate for music education, Lopez-Yañez also designs Symphonic Education Shows distributed by Symphonica Productions,[34] which have been premiered by orchestras such as the Rochester Philharmonic,[35] Sarasota Orchestra,[36] Omaha Symphony[37] and the Nashville Symphony. He also reaches young audiences through his active role as both a composer (with works like Kokowanda Bay which was premiered by the Omaha Symphony on their subscription Family Series)[38] and as a recording artist/producer/arranger with albums like Ruth and Emilia's The Spaceship that Fell in My Backyard and Kokowanda Bay[39] which have won Parents' Choice Awards,[40] Global Music in Media Awards,[41] and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.[42]
| Title | Artist | Contribution | Year | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Let it Shine | Jim Rule | Vocalist | 1996 | |
| 2nd | Me and the Kids | Ruth Hertz Weber, Enrico & Emilia Lopez-Yañez | Vocalist | 1997 | |
| 3rd | Silly Willy Sports[43] | Brenda Colgate | Vocalist | 1997 | |
| 4th | Loco de Amor | Jorge Lopez-Yañez | Trumpet | 2010 | |
| 5th | Por ti sere | Banda del Estado de Zacatecas | Trumpet | 2012 | |
| 6th | Heritage[44] | San Diego Jewish Men's Choir | Trumpet/Drums | 2015 | |
| 7th | Kochi[45] | San Diego Jewish Men's Choir | Drums | 2016 | |
| 8th | Action Moves People United | Multiple Artists | Arranger | 2016 | |
| 9th | The Spaceship that Fell in My Backyard[46] | Ruth and Emilia | Composer/Producer | 2018 | |
| 10th | We Are One | Windwalker and the MCW | Co-Composer/Arranger | 2018 | |
| 11th | Kokowanda Bay[47] | Ruth and Emilia | Composer/Producer | 2020 |
Lopez-Yañez's principal teachers were Jim Ross and Thomas Wilkins, with additional studies and masterclasses from Lorin Maazel, and Michael Tilson Thomas. He holds a Masters in Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Maryland. Before studying at Maryland, Lopez-Yañez received his Baccalaureate and Masters in Music from UCLA.