Spanish cellist Carolina López (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1999) is currently a Master's student at the Royal College of Music under Hélène Dautry. 

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Carolina started her musical studies at a young age, under the tuition of Josef Racz from the Philharmonic Orchestra of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and went on to the Junior Department of the Conservatoire of Las Palmas. At age 16, she started her BMus, and went on to graduate with First Class Honours, focusing on areas such as composition, musicology and performance. She also received the BMus Year Prize. At a Master's level, Carolina has continued to pursue Historically Informed Performance, learning baroque cello and continuo, as well as Conducting, for which she obtained a Distinction.

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Carolina has most recently become a member of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic by personal recommendation of Maestro Kristjan Järvi. Prior to this, she has been a member and principal cellist of many prestigious youth orchestras, such as the Järvi Academy Symphony Orchestra, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Opera Academy, National Youth String Orchestra (UK), the European Student Orchestra, the Youth Orchestra of the Canary Islands (JOCAN), and the Irish Chamber Orchestra Academy. Moreover, she takes part in orchestral activities at the RCM such as the RCM Symphony and the RCM Philharmonic.

In addition to her orchestral activities, Carolina frequently partakes in courses and masterclasses; Dorset Cello Classes, Old Ox Masterclasses, International Summer Academy of the MDW, Aboyne Cello Festival, International Summer School of the Fundación Princesa de Asturias, Scandinavian Cello School, working with renowned cellists: Rebecca Gilliver, Claudio Bohórquez, Christoph Richter, Jakob Koranyi, Jacob Shaw, Philip Higham, Alexander Osokin.

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She has also shared a stage and received guidance from world-class musicians such as Maxim Vengerov, Martyn Brabbins, Thomas Zehetmair, Rachel Nicholls, Rafael Payare, Vasily Petrenko, Alexandra Soumm...and appeared as venues such as BOZAR, St. John's Smith Square, Cadogan Hall, and with engagements later this year at the Pärnu Concert House, Philharmonie (Berlin) and Wiener Musikverein.

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Carolina is also a keen chamber musician, and was a finalist in the 2020 Edinburgh Quartet Apprentice Competition. At the RCM, she is currently a member of a string quartet, a string quintet and a piano-cello duo. She is also a prize winner in the 1st ISCART International Music Competition (First Prize), SAMNIUM International Orchestra Audition Award (Special Jury Prize, Third Prize), and the Chris Cadwur James Concerto Competition. Most recently, she was awarded 'highly commended' at the RCM Contemporary Competition.

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Carolina plays on two cellos, a modern 2020 cello by French maker Baptiste Juguera, and the Smillie 'McNeil' cello (1910) generously on loan from the Cherubim Music Trust.

She is also kindly supported by the Zetland Foundation, Mbili Trust, Snell Charitable Educational Fund and Olgarhythm. She is a scholar for the Fundación Mapfre Guanarteme.