Carlos Manuel López Soria

Mexican bassoonist Carlos López Soria began his musical journey at the age of six on the piano, before discovering his passion for the bassoon at eighteen. He began his formal music studies at the School of Music of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), later earning degrees from the Joyce and Henry Schwob School of Music and the University of Iowa. He is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at the University of Iowa, with a research focus on bassoon music of the Americas. His doctoral recording project, Americas’ Collage, features five contrasting works by composers from Washington State to Argentina. Carlos’s primary teachers include Benjamin Coelho, Dr. Stephanie Patterson, Dr. Ronald Wirt, Nylsa Ávalos, and Manuel Hernández.

He has won top prizes in numerous solo and chamber music competitions across Mexico and the United States. As an orchestral player, he has served as principal bassoon for the Columbus Ballet (GA), second bassoon with the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra (GA), and has performed with the Columbus Symphony, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, UNAM Philharmonic, IPN Symphony, and many other orchestras in both countries.

Carlos has served as Instructor of Bassoon at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville and as teaching assistant at the University of Iowa. Since August 2024, he has been bassoon faculty at Western Michigan University. He maintains an active schedule of performances and masterclasses throughout the United States and Mexico. 

Recent performance highlights include gala appearances at the International Double Reed Society Conference, the Meg Quigley Symposium, and the prestigious Mizzou International Composers Festival.