Rodrigo López Paz

In an Caribbean island surrounded by salsa music, popular music and jazz, among others, my parents were pioneers of the early music movement in Cuba and founded their ensemble Ars Longa one year before I was born.

When I was little, I had many chances playing with the instruments around me before entering in a music school: violin, guitar, recorder, viola da gamba. I also sung in some choirs.

An instrument nobody wanted to play
At the age of nine, I took the entrance exams at the conservatory trying to get a place for the guitar. Unfortunately, there weren’t any openings that year. So, they recommended us to choose an instrument that no one was interested in: the oboe.Even for me it was not love at first side, since I forgot my instrument at the schoolyard for weeks.

Born and raised
My parents made all the effort making me listen to Bach Cantatas and the ‘Brandenburg’ concertos every evening before going to bed. With the result that I ended up loving it and started to ask for it myself.

Besides music, I love my football and videogame nights with my friends. Travelling around the world and taking landscape photos is my passion. My motivation in work and life is to be able to be with my family, a significant part of which still lives in Cuba today.