Biography
Spanish-American conductor François López-Ferrer has earned international recognition for his versatility across opera, symphonic repertoire, and contemporary music. Recipient of the 2024 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, he has built a career distinguished by collaborations with leading orchestras, opera houses, and festivals across Europe, the United States, and Asia.
López-Ferrer’s recent and upcoming seasons include operatic engagements such as Il Trovatore at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Opéra National de Paris and Opera San Antonio, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at Spoleto Festival USA, and an Opera Gala at the Rossini Opera Festival with the Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini. Recent symphonic performances include appearances with the Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, the Symphonieorchester der Volksoper Wien — including a Vienna Konzerthaus gala with Plácido Domingo and María José Siri — the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, Utah Symphony, and the Basque National Orchestra.
He has guest conducted ensembles worldwide including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Ensemble intercontemporain, and the Enescu Philharmonic. In Spain, he is a regular guest on the podium, collaborating with the Orquesta Nacional de España, the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and the Bilbao Sinfonikoa. An advocate for contemporary music, he led the U.S. premiere of Pedro Osuna’s Lux Aeterna and Mark Simpson’s Violin Concerto.
López-Ferrer brought forth a richly characterful sound, always with clarity and precision. [...] A perfect conclusion to a night filled with memorable moments
Pablo Sánchez-Quinteira | BACHTRACK
López-Ferrer has collaborated with soloists including Nicola Benedetti, Pekka Kuusisto, Boris Giltburg, Pablo Sáinz-Villegas, Pepe Romero, Clara-Jumi Kang, Roman Simovic, Karen Gomyo, Paul Huang, Geneva Lewis, and Zee Zee. Bachtrack praised his “richly expressive sound, always rendered with clarity and precision,” while Beckmesser magazine described him as an “elegant and authoritative” figure whose gestures “are contagious, commanding the listener’s attention.” SF Classical Voice highlighted his “attentiveness as a conductor, moving briskly across the sections of the orchestra to ensure that practically every note from every musician played its role in the design.”
López-Ferrer previously served as Resident Conductor of the Académie de l’Opéra de Paris, Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and May Festival, Associate Conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile, and Principal Conductor of the Ballet Nacional Chileno. He was also a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and winner of the inaugural 2015 Neeme Järvi Prize at the Menuhin Gstaad Festival.
Born in Switzerland, raised in the United States, and of Cuban and Spanish heritage, López-Ferrer brings a multicultural perspective to his music-making. He holds a Master of Arts in Conducting from the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne and a Bachelor of Music in Composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music