The Mandoleers

Mandoleers Welcome New Conductor

The Mandoleers are pleased to announce that Ernesto Lima-Parets has been selected as the orchestra’s new conductor.  Ernesto succeeds Nicoletta Moss Miller, who has begun doctoral studies in music at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.  We welcome Ernesto to the world of classical mandolin music and look forward to developing under his musical leadership.

Ernesto was born in Havana, Cuba. At the age of 9, he entered Cuba's selective Art Education Schools System, where he earned degrees in percussion, music education and choral conducting. In 2020, he was awarded a full scholarship to pursue a master's degree in Conducting at Georgia State University.

Ernesto has had a very active professional career. He began as Assistant Conductor of the National Chorus of Cuba and later became Principal Conductor of D'Profundis Chamber Choir. He also served as Conductor and Coordinator of the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic / ISA Orchestra, with whom he performed at Chicago's Auditorium Theater in 2015. As Musical Director and Conductor of Mano a Mano Vocal Ensemble in Havana, he completed a USA tour, performing in many cities throughout 11 states in 2016. He has worked professionally with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, the Chamber Orchestra of Havana, Exaudi, Coralina Chamber Choir, and Coro Polifónico de la Habana. Additionally, he was the Conductor and Founder of the Vocal ALMA Female Chorus in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

Ernesto has received several awards from the National Council of the Performing Arts of Cuba, the University of the Arts, and the Ministry of Culture of Cuba. As a teacher, he worked as Graduate Assistant / Assistant Conductor at Georgia State University, Assistant Director of the Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church's Choir and Orchestra, Professor of Artistic Practice at the Department of University Cultural Extension, University of the Arts, ISA, in Havana for several years, and Professor of Music Theory, Solfeggio, and Harmony at the National School of Music, ENA, in Havana, and at the Conservatory of Music in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

Currently, Ernesto serves as faculty at the Washington Conservatory of Music.  Additionally, he works as Assistant Conductor with Maestro Ángel Gil-Ordóñez with the Georgetown University Orchestra. He has worked as a guest conductor and musical director for the Alliance for New Music-Theatre, DC Strings, and other groups in the DC area. He also offers some private music classes.

In his spare time, Ernesto loves animals and spending time in nature. He enjoys hanging out with childhood and college friends, meditation, good art that invites him to reflect on philosophical and social topics, dancing, and talking with people from other cultures.

Ernesto takes up the baton as the Mandoleers’ sixth conductor on November 28, 2023.