Daily Record features CWU business alum and opera star

Jose Iniguez’s career has taken him all over the country and through several different disciplines before landing him in the limelight as the operatic frontman of a full-size traveling symphony.

The CWU alumnus and his award-winning organization, Encanto Arts, were featured in a June 30 article in the Ellensburg Daily Record, highlighting his lifelong passion for the mariachi music he and his family enjoyed while working the orchards of Mattawa during his youth.

“I really wanted to learn how to read music,” Iniguez said in the article, written by Anna Rose. “I really wanted to learn how to perform with any musician, how to collaborate with any musician in the world. The only way to do that was to go to music school.”

Iniguez (’00) joined CWU’s vocal performance program, where he discovered his true instrument, and realized that he wanted to own and produce his own music in a way that would require education outside of the field. With that knowledge guiding him, he transitioned to earning his business degree.

“As a producer, you can do whatever you want,” Iniguez told the Record. “You can create a program of what you want to be performed. That was really enlightening for me, and it finally gave me that authority in myself — that I can actually create something.”

After several years of success in the corporate world, Iniguez found his way back to his love of music, and decided to launch a program for students like him who might otherwise not have the opportunity to pursue their dreams of performance. Encanto Arts, created almost 10 years ago, has grown from Iniguez and a single pianist to a full-sized symphony experience traveling the country and raising money for music performance residencies at universities across the state.

“If we want a true, equitable society, we want every child to have an opportunity,” Iniguez said. “We need to get rid of that financial barrier.”

This summer, the multi-award-winning organization opened a free music academy in South Seattle for students to explore their musical talents free from the financial hurdles that might have otherwise gotten in their way. Iniguez sees this as full-circle moment, dedicated to the farmworker’s son who would grow up to take the world by storm.

“I often think about how many talented young people face those same barriers today,” Iniguez told the Daily Record. “This program is dedicated to those students and families. We want every child, regardless of income, to have access to high-quality music education, professional instructors, and the opportunity to see themselves reflected in the arts.”