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When Carlos Fernando Lopez first came to the Frost School of Music at 32, he had already had a full musical life as a classical pianist and university educator in his native Colombia. But he wanted to grow creatively and professionally.<\/p>\n
He found his path to doing so at the Frost School, which not only enabled Lopez to become successful in new areas but to connect his talents in new and innovative ways. He first earned a bachelor\u2019s in music production in 2012, and quickly became a successful producer and engineer for Latin stars such as Marc Anthony and Alejandro Sanz. He returned to get a master\u2019s in classical composition in 2020, earning a Latin GRAMMY award for a piece he composed for his degree. He immediately proceeded to earn a doctorate in classical conducting in 2023, enabling him to\u00a0<\/span>lead a classical orchestra<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>that accompanied global superstar Bad Bunny\u2019s 2024 Most Wanted tour, bridging pop and classical music on a vast scale.<\/p>\n Lopez<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>says the Frost School was unique in enabling him to explore these disparate musical worlds. \u201cThe school that embraced people from different backgrounds was Frost,\u201d he said. \u201cI found an environment that embraced who I am, a classical musician who also does popular music.\u201d<\/p>\n Recently, Lopez has been returning to his roots in education and working with young people. In\u00a0<\/span>2024<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>2025<\/a>, he was the musical director for the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation\u2019s annual celebration of their scholarship awards, directing their young recipients in performances at the Knight Center for Innovation. In September, the\u00a0<\/span>Foundation brought Lopez to work<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>with the jazz and classical ensembles at Miami\u2019s New World School of the Arts (NWSA), an acclaimed public arts magnet school.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very satisfying,\u201d said Lopez of helping young musicians. \u201cIt resonates with my past.\u201d And with his present. \u201cIt was an immense opportunity to build the students\u2019 confidence and skills,\u201d he said of his\u00a0<\/span>visit to NWSA<\/a>. \u201cTo try to be a mentor, and to light a spark in them. I was in a conservatory too. And something I have learned since then is that my vision of the music world was very narrow. So it was very fulfilling to see how their confidence grew, how they were challenged, and how their awareness increased about careers in music.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Latin pop world, Lopez is widely known by the affectionate diminutive Carlitos, perhaps because he towers well over six feet tall. But he is a gentle giant, with a generous spirit and deep musical intelligence.<\/p>\n He grew up in\u00a0<\/span>Tolima<\/a>, in the Colombian Andes, and studied in the conservatory there as a child. His grandfather, a former opera singer, inculcated a love of music in him. Lopez was transfixed the first time he heard an orchestra at age 10. \u201cIt was like seeing the ocean for the first time,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cThat moment marked me.\u201d The family later moved to Bogota, where Lopez studied at the National Conservatory of Colombia, winning a prestigious national piano competition at age 15 and performing as a soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra. That led to an invitation, at 18, to teach at the Superior Academy of Arts of Bogot\u00e1, one of the country\u2019s leading arts schools, where his students were initially older than he was. He remained for 14 years, becoming the director of the music department and the accreditation committee.<\/p>\n But when he first arrived at the Frost School with his wife, a classical pianist, and their five-year-old daughter, Lopez was a little overwhelmed. \u201cEveryone was younger than me, and they knew a lot about music production,\u201d he said. But he was also inspired. \u201cI loved that it was a new kind of creativity and skill that is very different from the piano,\u201d he said. \u201cAll the technical aspects of producing an album captivated me.\u201d<\/p>\n On graduation, Raul Murciano, the vice-dean for administration, introduced Lopez to another Frost School alumnus, the successful Miami producer\u00a0<\/span>Julio Reyes Copello<\/a>, who began hiring Lopez to work on\u00a0<\/span>albums by<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>major Latin artists, including as engineer and arranger for Ricky Martin\u2019s \u201cA Quien Quiera Escuchar,\u201d which won a GRAMMY in 2016.<\/p>\n Lopez was fascinated by producing. \u201cEvery album is a journey,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have to get into another person\u2019s creative world, understand how they want to express themselves, and use everything you have at your disposal to bring their music to life.\u201d<\/p>\n But in 2018, he returned to the Frost School. \u201cI felt like I was falling into a rut,\u201d he said. \u201cI went back to my source, which is classical music, for more knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n And he found it. Lopez praises Professor\u00a0<\/span>Charles Mason<\/a>, the chair of the composition\u00a0<\/span>program<\/a>, for helping him find his own sound. \u201cHe gave me a lot of tools, but at the same time he pushed me to develop my own voice,\u201d Lopez said, pointing to the Latin GRAMMY for Best Contemporary Classical Composition he won for \u201cSacre<\/a>,\u201d which he composed for his master\u2019s degree. (It featured Lopez on piano and fellow alumnus Jose Valentino Ruiz on flute.)<\/p>\n But he said his studies with Distinguished Professor of Music\u00a0<\/span>Gerard Schwarz<\/a>, the illustrious conductor who leads the Frost School\u2019s conducting program, were the most illuminating. \u201cI learned so much that it blew my mind,\u201d said Lopez. \u201cI believe the orchestra and its repertoire represent one of the greatest achievements in human artistry. The way my mentor Maestro Schwarz helped me understand, his insight and experience, was the culmination of everything I\u2019ve learned in music.\u201d<\/p>\n Schwarz took Lopez as one of just four doctoral students, despite the younger man\u2019s lack of experience. \u201cFor me, the most important thing is to have people with extraordinary potential, and Carlos has that,\u201d he said in 2024. \u201cIt has been thrilling to see his growth, and to see this extremely gifted man flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n A key to Lopez\u2019s growth has been the way he applies his classical music skills to the pop world. \u201cClassical music helps me understand better, interpret faster, navigate better,\u201d he said. That made him the ideal person to answer Bad Bunny\u2019s request to organize, conduct, and write music for what Lopez dubbed the\u00a0<\/span>Philharmonic Orchestra Project<\/a>, for the artist\u2019s 2024 tour. Almost half the musicians were Frost School students or alumni. Lopez also\u00a0<\/span>composed music<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for \u201cNadie Sabe Lo Que Va A Pasar Ma\u00f1ana,\u201d the artist\u2019s album that year, sharing in two of its Latin GRAMMY nominations.<\/p>\n Lopez continues to balance pop and classical music. The Latin Recording Academy, which produces the\u00a0<\/span>Latin GRAMMY awards<\/a>, has made him the musical director of their Person of the Year gala, which will honor legendary Spanish singer Rafael the night before the Nov. 13 awards in Las Vegas. The event\u2019s orchestra will include four Frost School alumni, as well as faculty member\u00a0<\/span>Craig Morris<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and student\u00a0<\/span>Annabella Paolucci<\/a>, a violinist studying media production and scoring.<\/p>\n He just received two regional\u00a0<\/span>Emmy nominations<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for audio production for PBS productions of the Frost Symphony Orchestra performance of Beethoven\u2019s 9th Symphony<\/a>, and a performance by the Palm Beach Symphony, where Schwarz is musical director, and shares in the nominations as creator and conductor of both concert broadcasts.<\/p>\n While he doesn\u2019t know where his journey will take him next, Lopez is excited about the future.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope to continue growing,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cLearning is what brought me here, and I need to keep learning. By learning, I mean my own, as well as helping others learn. I would like to be involved in an educational context with a lot of creativity. But I\u2019m open to what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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