Eduardo Aparicio has been singing for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for numerous years. He has traveled across the world, from the Netherlands, to his native Chile, yet when confronted with his musical success— I am a dentist, he responds with assertion. “Verdi Requiem,” he continues, “is a magnificent piece of music, a very huge piece of music, with choir and orchestra...”

Aparicio sang with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for over 23 years, going with them from Carnegie Hall through the United States and Europe. Now whenever they have big pieces of music, they call, he says. His musical contributions remain timeless in Les Trojans, Carmina Buranna, and L'Enfance du Christ. Five years ago, he was a major contributor in the 350 years of Montreal Anniversary Presentation at the Notre Dame Cathedral. Verdios Requiem is what he performed. “I enjoy my music,” he persists. “It is a hobby. It is a part of my life...if you are sad, you have music to express your sadness; if you are happy, you have music to express your happiness. Music is part of our lives.”

Music, he says, always came naturally to him. Then the crossroads. What to choose as a life career? What to decide? His original intention was to become a doctor, but due to an overwhelming amount of applicants for medical school that year, dentistry was the next logical choice. He wanted a solid-based profession. Music would always be there— and, with dentistry, he'd get to use his hands. Perform.

Aparicio, in fact, considers himself both an artist and a scientist. “Dentistry is a science, but it's also art; you create smiles, you preserve smiles, you reconstruct smiles, and you have to have art to do that. You have to be like a sculptor. You have to carve, with your hands, a piece of art to put into the face of somebody.” Music, on the other hand, is quite openly an art, but it is also science. “You have to have a mathematical mind in order to cut time into little pieces. Rhythmically, some pieces are longer than others, shorter than others in order to create music.” Also, says Aparicio, to interpret what is written, you have to have the ability to divide time and rhythm.

The biggest challenge for Eduardo Aparicio to date has been to re-validate his degree upon his arrival from Chile. He had to be an intern, a resident at McGill hospitals and finally, to pass the required and stringent examinations. “This was a very difficult exam, because the coverage is so wide that you have to be excellent in all the things that they ask.”

He completed all the requirements in only one year and a half. Afterward, he was free to be an entrepreneur. He started his own dental business over 30 years ago. Now, he implants teeth and music into people.

“I like my independence,” he says—with Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' playing in the background.