“Music always has moved Carlos Lopez,” writes Brian Blair in Monday’s (8/10) Republic (Columbus, Indiana). “At only 3-years old … at a symphony concert in Ecuador, where he was raised, the toddler [imitated] the conductor during performances…. Lopez, now 15 and a Columbus resident since last summer, still loves music. Except his dreams have grown up with him…. The home-schooled sophomore-to-be now is a flutist and is conducting an eight-member chamber orchestra—fittingly known as Octo Carmonia, Latin meaning harmony of eight—that he began organizing in the fall…. He’s picked up tips from Josh Aerie, music director of the mostly volunteer Columbus Symphony Orchestra, in which Lopez plays flute…. The ensemble started rehearsing in November with … Jessica Kim, violin; Joana Kim, violin; Miyu Fujiwara, clarinet; Yuki Yamanaka, trumpet; Youki Murabayashi, piano; Kotaro Kaneda, trombone; and Nao Miura, euphonium. He hopes to recruit many more students to the group…. They met on Zoom during the statewide quarantine period. They since have returned to in-person rehearsals.… Lopez continues to dream of future studies at the Indiana University, where he is a member of the Flute Academy at Jacobs School of Music. And he continues to dream of conducting.”
Change font size