Mexican conductor Francisco Fernandez is passionate about performing and sharing the gift of music with audiences around the world.  He has an active career as an orchestral and choral conductor, concert pianist, and chamber musician.  

He holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in piano performance from The Boston Conservatory.  He has attended orchestral conducting festivals such as the Medomak Conductors Retreat and the Summer Orchestral Conducting Institute, working with world-renowned conductors Kenneth Kiesler and Miguel Harth Bedoya.

In 2020, he made his conducting debut at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, Michigan conducting the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared as a conductor and soloist in Latin America and the United States at international festivals and with orchestras including the Chiapas Symphony Orchestra, the University of Science and Arts of Chiapas Symphony Orchestra, at the Cervantino Barroco International Music Festival in San Cristobal de las Casas, and the PaaxFest in Chiapas, Mexico; the University of Michigan Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestras, the University of Michigan Campus Orchestras; Nashaway Philharmonic Orchestra, Clark University Sinfonia of Worcester, Atlantic Union College Chamber Orchestra in Massachusetts; the Bienal de Violoncello and the Symphony Orchestra of the National University of Music in Lima, Peru; among others.

Since 2011, he has performed in a cello-piano duo with his wife, cellist Taide Prieto, comprising Duo of Hope. Their career as a chamber group has taken them across Latin-America, the United States and Europe. As an avid educator, Mr. Fernandez has been a guest professor of conducting at the National University of Music in Lima Peru, served as adjunct piano professor at the University of Science and Arts of Chiapas in Mexico and has been invited to teach masterclasses at organizations such as the Peruvian Union University and Escuela Superior de Artes de Yucatan in Mexico. Recently, Mr. Fernandez served as a Lecturer of Music at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin where he taught conducting.  

Mr. Fernandez is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Michigan under professor Kenneth Kiesler. 

Elijah Schuh recently finished a Master of Music at the University of Wisconsin - Madison studying orchestral conducting with Dr. Oriol Sans. Previously he served as a Conducting Fellow with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Music Director for the Hub City Symphony, Staff Conductor at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point at Marshfield, and as Interim Conductor for the Philharmonia with the Central Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Program. At UW, he served as a conductor for the All-University String Orchestras, Medical Sciences Orchestra, assisted with the University Opera, University of Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra, UW Concert Choir, UW Chorale, and served as a Teaching Assistant in the Choral and Orchestral Areas.

Active in opera and musical theatre, Elijah has conducted and music directed productions for several companies including American Gothic Performing Arts Festival, Middleton Players Theatre Company, Second Act Theatre Company, the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Opera Program as well as serving as an Assistant Conductor for the University of Wisconsin - Madison Opera Program. As a Tenor, Elijah has performed various roles including Rinnucio in Gianni Schicchi, Martin in The Tender Land, Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor, among others, with various companies throughout the Midwest and Italy. He is also active as an Oratorio Soloist recently performing the tenor solos for Handel’s Messiah, Respighi’s Lauda per la Nativiatà del Signore, Mozart’s Missa brevis in G and Missa brevis in B flat. 

An experienced educator and passionate advocate for music education, Elijah was an elementary orchestra teacher in the Stevens Point Area Public School District in Stevens Point, WI. Additionally, he pursued graduate studies in music education at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point where his research and thesis focused on accessibility barriers to students joining elementary orchestra programs within public school systems across the United States. Starting Fall 2025, he will begin pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Michigan studying with Professor Kenneth Kiesler.