Costa Rican native Luis Víquez enjoys an internationally recognized career both as a clarinetist and as an orchestral, band and opera conductor, having performed throughout the United States, Costa Rica, Honduras, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, England and Taiwan. He serves as the Director of Orchestras and Clarinet Professor at the University of South Dakota, where he recently won the 2019 President's Award for Research Creativity. At USD, he also conducts the annual opera production and oversees the graduate program in orchestral conducting. Vìquez is the former principal clarinetist of the Heredia Symphony, and was a member of the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Cartago Symphony, and the World Youth Wind Orchestra. Recently, he released his first album conducting the Heredia Symphony Orchestra titled “Costa Rica desde Afuera” (2019 – Musitica Records) and performed as a soloist with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, the Heredia Symphony, and the San José National Concert Band. He appears as a clinician and as an adjudicator on a high demand throughout the United States and Central America, and regularly publishes academic articles regarding his research in Latin American symphonic music and instrumental ensembles rehearsal pedagogy. Víquez holds a Bachelor in Music Performance from the University of Costa Rica, a double Master of Arts in clarinet performance and wind conducting from Truman State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from UMKC Conservatory of Music.