High school student Carlos Lopez’s Okto Carmonia youth orchestra of 14 local students recently presented its spring concert at Terrace Lake Church in Columbus.
Lopez, 16, launched the group in the fall of 2019 shortly after he arrived from Ecuador, where he was raised. The home-schooled sophomore is also a flutist hoping to become an orchestra conductor. He performs with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and also the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
The concert program consisted of John B. Dykes’ "Holy Holy Holy," Ludwig van Beethoven’s "Ode to Joy," the first movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s "6th Symphony in F Major," George Frederic Handel’s "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted" and his "Hallelujah."
His ensemble began simply. He attended a meeting with part of the local Japanese community that has been so supportive of him, and organizers asked him to play the flute, along with a Japanese trombone player. From there, he met more instrumental performers, and that sparked the chamber group to begin forming.
