Story by Whitney Carter. Photos provided by Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Recently, Enrico was awarded the Mexicanos Distinguidos Award from Mexico’s Consul General on Mexican Independence Day. The award recognizes Mexican nationals who have lived abroad for at least five years consecutively. Awardees stand out for their extraordinary professional trajectory, social responsibility, peer recognition, and commitment to promoting the image of Mexico.
He said his award-winning career is driven by his love of sharing his culture and the influence of Hispanic culture here in Dallas.
“I have the great fortune of getting to work with some of the most talented musicians of Latin America and specifically Mexico frequently,” Enrico says. “Not only have I had the privilege of sharing the stage with artists like Aida Cuevas, Lila Downs, and Lupita Infante, but I have also had the opportunity to arrange and compose new pieces for artists like Mariachi Los Camperos and productions I take on the road like Latin Fire and The Three Mexican Tenors.”
Enrico says the ability to promote and share his heritage with audiences across the country is one of the most fulfilling things he gets to do in his life.
For musical influence, Enrico explains that he grew up in a musical household where his father was an opera singer, and his mother was a pianist and choral conductor.
“As a child we would often travel and watch my father perform in opera houses around the world. Some of my earliest musical memories are watching from backstage as my father would perform in these huge theatrical productions made up of singers, dancers, actors and, of course, a symphony orchestra,” Enrico says.
At a young age, Enrico also studied piano with his mother and eventually took up the trumpet and drums, which allowed him to play in every style of ensemble imaginable from jazz band and orchestra to rock bands and mariachi groups.
“As a conductor of popular music, I incorporate this diverse musical upbringing every day in the different collaborations and productions I am called to work on,” Enrico says.
He says in many parts of Latin America, arts organizations are fully funded by the government, whether that be the local symphony orchestra, ballet, or dance companies, showing how important they are to the community. It’s that support for the arts that he said continues to highlight the cultural belief that music and art are critical to the development of an educated and successful community.
Enrico says it is his hope that his work, doing what he loves, helps to immerse every community he goes to with the culture he has known and loved his entire life.
Beyond that, Enrico believes the orchestra is one of the best visual examples we have of how working together as a community can lead to the creation of something beyond what is capable of the individual.
“Music has the ability to connect and touch people in so many unique and beautiful ways,” Enrico explains. “Whether it is a way to bring people together to collaborate and share creativity or to express thoughts and emotions that are often too difficult to put into words, music is a tool through which we can heal, grow, and develop ourselves and communities into better and stronger versions of what might otherwise be possible.”
When he is not with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, he also serves as the Principal Pops Conductor of the Nashville Symphony.
To learn more about the Dallas Symphony Orchestra or enjoy a show that Enrico composed, you can visit the DSO website.
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