François López-Ferrer is a Spanish-American conductor. Winner of the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Prize in 2024, he regularly conducts major international orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Orquesta Sinfónica Radio Televisión Española, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Ensemble intercontemporain, Opéra de Lausanne and George Enescu Philharmonic.He began his career as associate conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and the May Festival. In 2018, he inaugurated the Verbier Festival's conductor mentoring programme and replaced Iván Fischer at short notice in a concert shared with Sir Simon Rattle and Gábor Takács-Nagy. During the 2021-2022 season, he joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Dudamel Fellowship Program and the Paris Opera Academy as conductor-in-residence. In January 2022, he replaced Louis Langrée as conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the American premiere of Mark Simpson's Violin Concerto with Nicola Benedetti. That same year, he was featured in the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview 2022 with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. François López-Ferrer has twice received the Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S. and won the inaugural Neeme Järvi Prize in 2015 at the Menuhin Gstaad Festival.He is associate conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Chile and principal conductor of the Ballet Nacional Chileno.In March 2025, he conducts the Paris Opera Academy's new production of Haydn's L'isola disabitata at the Opéra Bastille's Amphithéâtre Olivier Messiaen. Future engagements also include conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Puerto Rico, the Orchestra San Antonio, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León and the Philharmonisches Orchester Hagen.François López-Ferrer holds a master's degree in conducting from the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne and a bachelor's degree in composition from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.