Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer currently serves as resident conductor of the Académie of the Opéra de Paris. He formerly was associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival, and a 2021-22 Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
At Cincinnati, López-Ferrer stepped in for Louis Langrée in January 2022 for the U.S. premiere of Mark Simpson’s Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti to great critical acclaim.
This season he has made brilliant debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de España, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Opéra de Lausanne, Orquesta de Valencia, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica Radio Televisión Española, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, and Pasadena Symphony, and was featured in the 2022 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview with Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. He previously served as associate conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile and principal conductor of the Ballet Nacional Chileno.
Upcoming highlights include debuts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Music Festival, Colorado Springs Philharmonic and Tucson Symphony, as well as return engagements to the Orquesta Sinfónica Radio Televisión Española, Pasadena Symphony, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile.
An inaugural apprentice of the Verbier Festival’s 2018 Conductor Mentorship Program, López-Ferrer made a last-minute, critically acclaimed debut with the Verbier Festival Orchestra, replacing Iván Fischer in a shared program with Sir Simon Rattle and Gábor Takács-Nagy. He was recipient of a Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S., winner of the inaugural 2015 Neeme Järvi Prize awarded at the Menuhin-Gstaad Festival and a previous member of the Deutsche Dirigentenforum.
López-Ferrer holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne and a bachelor’s in composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
