ALONDRA DE LA PARRA
Conductor

Twenty three-year-old Mexican conductor and pianist Alondra de la Parra recently became the first woman from her country to conduct in New York City. Alondra began her music studies at an early age in both piano and cello. Her interest in music took her to England where she studied an “A level” in Music, Theory and Performance. At age fifteen she was appointed assistant conductor of the St. Leonard’s Mayfield School Orchestra under Mtro. Kenneth Pont. Upon her return from England, she continued her studies at the Center of Music Studies (CIEM) in México City where she studied composition as well as piano.

In 2000 Ms. De la Parra moved to New York City to study conducting with Vincent La Selva at the Julliard School (Evening Division). She has studied conducting privately with Michael Charry, Charles Dutoit as well as with Kenneth Kiesler privately and at the Conductor’s Retreat in Maine (2002 and 2003). She was recently selected as one of seven participants to conduct in the “Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar” in New York City.

Ms. De la Parra is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Mexican American Symphony Orchestra, which will have its debut concert in Town Hall November 2004. He currently holds the position of Assistant Conductor of the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra. Alondra was one of two conductors selected to be apprentice and back stage conductor of the New York Grand Opera (2000) as part of the complete Verdi Cycle with Mtro. La Selva. She was also selected for the “Michael Tilson Thomas Workshop on the Music of Aaron Copland” held at Carnegie Hall. She has conducted premieres of various works by young New York-based composers including Vincent Raikhel and Anthony Rosado, who’s Opera she premiered in October 2003. Alondra has been Guest Conductor of the Prism Players in New York City and is currently Music Director of the Stowe Spring Music Festival in Vermont, which debuted in 2003. She is committed to commissioning new music; she recently premiered two works by Timothy Hanson and Chris Fisher Lochhead to great acclaim.

As a pianist Ms. De la Parra performed Gershwin’s Concerto in F with the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra. She is an active recitalist in both New York and Mexico. Her two-piano duo with Venezuelan pianist Ana Karina Alamo has performed Poulenc’s two piano concerto. She has attended the Mozarteum Sommerkademie in Salzburg with Vassily Lobanov and the Oberlin Piano Festival. Miss De la Parra has participated in piano master classes with Gyorgy Sandor, David Dubal and Peter Takacs. Alondra is the recipient of the 2004 Presser Merit Scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music where she is completing her Piano Performance BM under the tutelage of Jeffrey Cohen.