Photo Credit: Dokk Savage & Doug Gifford
Preparing for Hispanic Heritage Month, I wanted to publish this interview with whom I consider an outstanding Hispanic in our city not only for his charisma and career but also for having received the Distinguished Mexicans award in 2023 by the Mexican government : Enrico Lopez-Yañez, principal pops conductor of the Nashville Symphony.
Those of us who have had the opportunity to attend a concert directed by him know that he was born to be on stage. His impact on the representation of Mexican and Latin American music in our city has been evident thanks to concerts such as Latin Fire , Los Tres Mexican Tenors and the film Coco .
On July 8, it was announced that the 2024-2025 season would be Enrico Lopez-Yañez's final season as principal conductor of the Nashville Symphony. Here is the interview he gave us:
First obligatory question: why?
Well, as you may know, this past year I've increased the number of orchestras that I'm going to be working with. I started in September of last year with the Pacific Symphony and also with the Dallas Symphony. And then a few months ago they announced my position in Detroit, which also starts in September.
So, well, these are new orchestras that require a little more of my time. To start setting my mind, I had to say that this is going to be my last year with the Nashville Symphony. I still have this upcoming season left, and if I complete that, it would be 8 years that I have been with the Nashville Symphony.
So, are you staying on as principal pops conductor with the Pacific Symphony (in California), the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra?
Yes, with those three. As mentioned in the announcement, I will still be returning every year as a guest conductor and conducting at least one or two concerts a year, I imagine. I already have dates for 2026 and 2027, so you will still see me on stage.
How has your life changed personally and professionally having been here in Nashville for these 8 years?
Well, absolutely. When I started here with the Nashville Symphony, I started as assistant conductor and I was in that position for two years before I was promoted to principal conductor, which would be six years at the end of this upcoming season. But that gave me a great opportunity, in part because of the orchestra, because of the faith they put in me and giving me the opportunity to be able to make artistic decisions about programming and what kind of guest artists we would bring in.
I was also greatly helped by the trust that the city had in me, by giving me opportunities, as you know, to try concerts at Plaza Mariachi or to bring in Latin artists and artists from all genres with whom we had not collaborated before. For a young conductor, it is not always easy to find orchestras that offer these opportunities, and that was something very important that helped me stand out as a conductor.
What are some of the lessons that this opportunity, this position, has taught you?
Well, initially, when I was offered the job of Pops, I honestly didn't think I would accept it. I didn't really know if it would limit my career opportunities, because I was, like many directors, planning to be a classical music director. I really liked opera, but I realized, on reflection, that I've really liked all styles of music since I was a kid: rock, pop, jazz, mariachi music, everything.
This position gave me the opportunity to combine all the things I've always loved about music: being a showman, entertaining people, attracting a diverse audience, and really changing (or so I hoped) the perception that the city had that an orchestra is not just classical music. It's not just a very serious, closed-off place that looks like a museum. Here, the orchestra is one of the most flexible ensembles that can play in all styles and offer something for anyone in the community. It's only the creativity of the people who choose the programs and the music that can help make that vision a reality. I hope that during my time, we've made some progress in that kind of work.
What has been a personal story, something that you take away or that you highlight from this opportunity in this position?
Well, there have been so many. Since I've been here for a number of years, one of my favorite concerts is the Fourth of July, which we do every year, because it's one of the times when we're really playing for hundreds of thousands of people. When I first came to audition here with the symphony, they invited me as a guest conductor to conduct two of the concerts that we do in the community, in the parks, and one of them was on the Fourth of July. So that was one of the first concerts that I did with the orchestra.
I had never conducted a concert with fireworks, and this year we did it with drones, so every year it is still a unique experience and a very nice memory to have that concert as the last one of the year. It reminds me of the whole journey we have taken together with the audience and with the orchestra.
Another experience that stands out is the concerts we have done at Plaza Mariachi and the movie Coco . We have found ways to bring a bit of my culture and present it with the orchestra at a high level, so that people really appreciate the value of our music and our culture. I remember when we did the movie Coco , which requires an ensemble of guitars, guitarrón and vihuela.
The orchestra had never worked with musicians who played those instruments before, so we had to search the community, with the help of connections and friends, for people who played vihuela and guitarrón. We found three musicians, one of them a very talented guitarist, who had never played with the orchestra and didn't even speak English. It was such a nice experience to be in the theater with such talented musicians.
They had never been given the opportunity, but when it was offered to them, the orchestra musicians were fascinated, and I think the audience was too, seeing this communication between local people and the orchestra, producing such beautiful music in such a big show. Even though there was a language difference between the orchestra musicians and the guitarists, we were able to collaborate together with the language of music.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievements?
Well, a lot of them were concerts that we created here in Nashville specifically for the symphony. For example, the show on the record was something that I wrote, from the arrangements to the selection of the musicians and the songs that we played. It was the premiere here, as was the concert of the Three Mexican Tenors , which was so special. Working with three great tenors, one of them being my dad, and being able to choose with him the arrangements that they were going to sing. We also brought in a very talented Mexican arranger, José Luis Esquivel, who did the Juan Gabriel medley and the Luis Miguel medley, and the traditional Mexican arrangements.
Other artists we've brought in include Trisha Yearwood, who was working with us for the first time. She was touring with her band, but she hadn't done shows with an orchestra. So, here was one of the first ones she did with a symphony orchestra. One of the productions I liked the most was The Music City Christmas , which we did with Broadway dancers, singers and choreography. It was something very unique that hopefully left an impact.
One of the events that remains a tradition is the Spirits of Summer program , which I started my first year here. It's a cocktail competition that happens every year in June, where I choose various pieces of music and we select various local Nashville bartenders. They design cocktails to match the music, and it's a public-voted contest. We've done a number of things that I think are very unique and hopefully will continue into the future and bring in one or two new audience members.
Are there any obstacles you overcame during your time here in Nashville that you think shaped your career?
One of the big hurdles we still face is that there is so much competition in the Nashville market for the entertainment industry, especially in the area where we are. We have Broadway, the Ryman, the Opry, the Bridgestone Arena, and every night there are concerts that compete with the symphony. That really helped me focus on what makes us unique: the orchestra.
Any theater can bring in a rock band or a country artist, but what we do, which is very unique, is we present those artists in a way that you've never seen before, with a symphony orchestra. And that's something very special for the fans, because if you've seen your favorite artist live five, six, ten times, there's not much difference anymore, but if you see it with a symphony orchestra, that's when you hear the music in a new way, with a unique creativity and vision. I think that's helped me in my career, in focusing on how to present the orchestra in new, very individual ways that make the experience special for the audience.
How would you like the Nashville public to remember you?
I hope they don't forget me, because I'm going to keep coming back, so I hope we keep that relationship. But I love being someone very positive on stage, someone who enjoys connecting the audience with the music and always trying to surprise them. That can be playing songs they weren't expecting, going out dancing, playing instruments like the trumpet, or doing choreographies like the ones we did in Latin Fire .
It's about going on stage and not necessarily knowing what you're going to see, but knowing that when you go to a concert, you're going to have a good time and you're going to have fun. That, for me, is the most important thing. When I go on stage, I want people to have fun and to leave saying: "WOW! I had a great time with the orchestra, I want to go back."
What's next? What are your plans?
Well, I'm still on a mission to create new products for the symphonic world. For example, next season, the symphony is going to present a new program that I designed, called La Vida Loca . I designed it together with trumpeter José Sibaja, who participated in Latin Fire . We've written new arrangements of pure popular Latin music from the nineties: Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz, Shakira, Carlos Santana. It's going to be a lot of fun. Two incredible singers are coming: a girl, Jacky Mendez, who was a singer with Ricky Martin, and another guy, Ender Thomas, who was a singer with Yanni for many years and is a producer of reggaeton and Latin music.
There will also be a very talented percussionist who has won more than 60 Grammys, and of course, José Sibaja playing percussion. It will be a lot of fun and, once again, it will be a way to attract the Latin public and also the Americans, so that they realize how much Latin music we have had in the United States and the influence that Latin culture has had on pop music in this country.
This program will be presented next April or May, I don't remember the exact date. I plan to continue producing things like this and try to collaborate with artists who have never played with the orchestra, helping them to stand out in new programs and realize how incredible it is to do a concert with 80 or 90 musicians live in a theater as beautiful as the Schermerhorn. It's a unique experience. It's not like going on tour with your band, even if you're in a stadium full of people; it's something different. Playing with 90 people is different than playing in front of thousands of people. It's a totally different experience.
How do you think your departure will affect the City of Music?
I have a very nice relationship with the orchestra, and I will continue to have it. They have already started talking to me about their plans and they continue to ask for my opinion and help. I hope everything continues. I have so many beautiful memories, but I hope that the orchestra continues to move forward and that people continue to support it.
As you know, it is so special to have an orchestra of this quality in this city, one that has won 14 Grammys, that does so many concerts for the community and in so many different styles of music. It will always have a very special place in my heart, this orchestra, the projects and all the musicians we have worked with for so many years together. I hope that everything continues to move forward and that people continue to see how special it is to have this type of art in the city and that they continue to support it.
Do you have any message you would like to give to the Hispanic community in particular?
Well, I want to thank you so much for your support. In the world of classical music and orchestra, it often seems like it's a very lofty thing. I hope you've realized, through the concerts that we've done together and that we've performed both at the Schermerhorn and at Plaza Mariachi, that there's a little bit of everything, that anyone can relate to it because it's not just classical music, it's symphonic music. And that means it's any style of music accompanied by an orchestra. The possibilities of what you can do with an orchestra are endless.
I want to thank those who have come to the concerts to realize that, those who have accompanied us when we have done things like El Grito at the theater or Mexico in the Heart , which has been presented for so many years at the Schermerhorn. It is not only the orchestra, but everything that the association is and all the opportunities that they have given me. I am very grateful to the entire community and I hope to return frequently to be able to continue collaborating and maintaining that connection.
Thank you very much, Enrico Lopez-Yañez, for always making us have a good time, for proudly displaying our culture, but, above all, for being part of the musical history of the City of Music.
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