At home in a multifaceted repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music, Basque conductor Iñaki Encina Oyón has made a name for himself above all in the French opera scene. After initial training as a pianist in Vitoria-Gasteiz and in the graduate studio of Thérèse Dussaut at the Toulouse Conservatoire, he studied conducting with Jorma Panula and Enrique García Asensio. 2005 he was the first Spaniard to enter the renowned training programme “Atelier Lyrique” of the Paris Opera. He participated in numerous opera productions at the Paris Opera including premieres of contemporary operas and also conducted productions at the Atelier Lyrique. 2011 saw his conducting debut at Palais Garnier. He has since worked at the opera houses in Lille, Dijon, Rouen, Tours and Rennes, at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and in Japan. Aside from the large lyric repertoire – working at the Teatro Real in Madrid and at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia – Iñaki has displayed a special interest in unknown and neglected repertoire. He is Principal Guest Conductor of the Chamber Choir of Europe. Even if conducting represents his main occupation, Iñaki has never lost sight of the piano and cultivates the Spanish, German, and French art song repertoires with several selected singers. Recitals have taken him to renowned series such as those in Paris’s Auditorium du Louvre, Amphitheatre of Bastille, Lille Opera, Teatro Arriaga of Bilbao, and Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid.