Maestro Iván López-Reynoso, recently appointed Music Director of the Atlanta Opera, will open the symphonic season in Concepción with a program featuring Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” by Ludwig van Beethoven and the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, performed by Jamaican-American soloist Ellinor D’Melon.

With a program of great emotional power and historical depth, the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Concepción will launch its 2026 Season with Symphonic Program No. 1: “A Heroic Song”, on Friday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 14 at 6:00 p.m. at the Teatro Universidad de Concepción in Concepción.

The season opening will also mark the debut in Chile of Mexican conductor Iván López‑Reynoso, one of the most outstanding Latin American batons of his generation, recently named Music Director of the Atlanta Opera. The program will also feature the return of Jamaican violinist Ellinor D’Melon, who comes back to Concepción to reunite with the orchestra and the local audience.

The program brings together two fundamental works of the universal symphonic repertoire.

In the first half, the renowned Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, an essential score for any great soloist. Its passionate writing, expansive lyricism, and technical demands have made it one of the most performed works in the history of the violin.

In the second half, the monumental Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, “Eroica,” Op. 55 by Ludwig van Beethoven, a work that forever transformed the symphonic language and definitively opened the doors to Romanticism. A score of immense dramatic intensity and human depth, it is considered one of the pillars of music history.

“I am happy, excited, and very eager for my upcoming debut in Chile. This is my first time visiting this extraordinary country, and I am really looking forward to meeting the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Concepción,” said Iván López-Reynoso, who will conduct the inaugural concert.

Iván López-Reynoso highlighted that the program brings together two crucial works of the repertoire, beginning with the Violin Concerto by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, which he described as “one of the absolutely essential scores of the soloist repertoire, with beautifully crafted writing and great virtuosity for both the soloist and the orchestra.”

Regarding the second half, dedicated to Symphony No. 3 “Eroica” by Ludwig van Beethoven, he emphasized that it is “an exciting work to revisit, a cornerstone of symphonic writing that opened the doors to Romanticism. It will be a great pleasure to greet you,” inviting the audience to be part of this remarkable season opening.

López-Reynoso is considered one of the most important young conductors from Mexico. He studied violin, piano, voice, and orchestral conducting, and has also received instruction from renowned maestros Alberto Zedda, Jan Latham-Koenig, and Avi Ostrowsky.

His versatility has allowed him to conduct across various disciplines and styles, including opera, ballet, contemporary dance, early music, and contemporary music. His extensive operatic repertoire includes over fifty titles, among them: Carmen, The Flying Dutchman, Aida, Don Carlo, Macbeth, La traviata, Rigoletto, The Rake’s Progress, La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, performed in venues such as the Opernhaus Zürich, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Real, Dallas Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Atlanta Opera, the Donizetti Opera Festival, Teatro de la Maestranza, and Royal Opera House Muscat, among others.

López-Reynoso has conducted, among others, the Philharmonia Zürich, Choir and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, National Orchestra and Choir of Spain, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, and the Staatsorchester Braunschweig, as well as the main orchestras of Mexico. In 2018, the Guanajuato State Congress awarded him the Diego Rivera State Arts Prize, and in 2022 he was named by Forbes México as one of the 100 most creative Mexicans in the world.

The concert will also mark an important milestone for the audience: starting in 2026, Saturday concerts will begin at 6:00 p.m., a new schedule designed to facilitate attendance and expand opportunities to engage with symphonic music.

Additionally, López-Reynoso will hold a Masterclass titled “Symphonic Bridges” on March 11 at 6:30 p.m., offering an in-depth look at Symphonic Program No. 1, where he will explore the works of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky to be performed on March 13 and 14—a unique opportunity to better understand and appreciate these masterpieces.

Registration for the masterclass is via forms.gle/YNo8couPyw5kZWUj9, and tickets for Symphonic Program No. 1, starting at $7,000 CLP for general admission, are available at www.ticketplus.cl and at the Teatro Universidad de Concepción box office.