Alondra de la Parra

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Alondra de la Parra
Alondra de la Parra in 2014
Born (1980-10-31) October 31, 1980 (age 43)
New York City
OccupationConductor
Years active1999–present
Websitealondradelaparra.com

Alondra de la Parra (born October 31, 1980) is a Mexican conductor.

Biography[edit]

De la Parra was born in New York City, the daughter of Manelick de la Parra, a writer and editor, and Graciela Borja, a sociologist and educator.[1] Her father was a film student at New York University and her mother a sociology student at The New School at the time of her birth and early childhood, through to the age of three.[2] Her grandmother was the writer Yolanda Vargas Dulché, and her aunt is the actress Emoé de la Parra. Her brother is Mane de la Parra.

Career[edit]

The family subsequently moved to Mexico City, where de la Parra began her piano studies at age seven and the cello at age 13. She also developed an interest in conducting around age 13. After a year of study at St Leonards-Mayfield School,[2] she studied composition at the Centre of Research and Musical Studies in Mexico City.[3] At age 19, de la Parra returned to New York City, to study piano and conducting at the Manhattan School of Music. She obtained a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance under the direction of Jeffrey Cohen and studied conducting with Michael Charry and Kenneth Kiesler, receiving an MA in Conducting in 2008. Her other conducting mentors include Marin Alsop, Charles Dutoit, and Kurt Masur.[4] She served as an apprentice conductor with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra.[1]

In 2003, de la Parra founded her own ensemble, the Mexican-American Orchestra, at the behest of the Mexican Consulate, which asked de la Parra to produce a concert featuring Mexican music for the Mexico Now Festival.[2] The resulting 65-member orchestra was renamed in 2004 the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (POA).[5] The POA toured in Mexico in 2007.[1] The orchestra and de la Parra released two commercial recordings, Mi Alma Mexicana – My Mexican Soul, and Travieso Carmesí.[6] In June 2011, the POA suspended operations because of financial difficulties.[7] De la Parra was artistic director of the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco from 2012 to 2013.[8][9]

In May 2015, de la Parra made her first guest-conducting appearance with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO).[10] In October 2015, the QSO announced the appointment of de la Parra as its first-ever music director and first-ever female conductor in its principal conducting post for a term of three years, 2017 to 2019.[11][12][13] She stood down from the QSO at the end of her contract in 2019.

In 2015, de la Parra was one of five conductors featured in the film Conduct! Every Move Counts, about the international Sir Georg Solti International Conductors' Competition at the Frankfurt Opera House.[14] In January 2024, the Spanish Ministry of Culture and La Comunidad de Madrid announced the appointment of de la Parra as the new artistic director of the Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid, effective with the 2024-2025 season.[15]

De la Parra has two children,[4] Luciano (born 2016) and Julián (born 2018). She is an official cultural ambassador of Mexico.[16]

Awards[edit]

  • Pablo Casals Award, Manhattan School of Music
  • New York Women's Agenda – Rising Star of 2007
  • 1010 WINS "Newsmakers of Tomorrow" Award – winner in the Arts and Entertainment category
  • "Banda de Honor", highest honor given to conductors by the Venezuelan Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (FESNOJIV)
  • Manhattan School of Music Taki Concordia Conducting Fellowship – Honorable Mention Award
  • El Micrófono de Oro Award, (Highest prize given yearly from the Mexican Broadcasting Association)
  • Presser Merit Scholarship Award, Manhattan School of Music
  • Amigos de la Música Music Award, Cuernavaca, Morelos
  • Luna Award, Auditorio Nacional México
  • Poder Award, ABC Foundation and Poder magazine
  • 2017 Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction – "Olympic Suite" for ESPN Deportes 2016 Summer Olympics coverage
  • 2018 Woman of the Year (Mexico)
  • 2019 Mexican edition of Leading Ladies of Entertainment[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Matthew Gurewitsch (2008-06-01). "A Baton for the Youth of the Americas". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  2. ^ a b c Alexis Swerdloff (2004-12-16). "Her Gestures Speak Louder Than Words". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
  3. ^ Clive Paget (2015-10-23). "Meet the Queensland Symphony's trailblazing new Music Director". Limelight. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  4. ^ a b Rick Fuller (2019-01-10). "'With her, there's just a hint of chaos': A film portrait of Alondra de la Parra". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  5. ^ Anne Midgette (2006-06-10). "A Conductor's Do-It-Yourself Project: Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  6. ^ Carlos Reyes (2011-06-21). "Mexican-American Classical Crossover: De La Parra's Travieso Carmesi". National Public Radio (alt.latino blog). Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  7. ^ Daniel J. Wakin (2011-06-03). "Money Woes Force Hiatus for Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas". The New York Times (ArtsBeat blog). Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  8. ^ "Alondra de la Parra dirigirá la Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco". El Economista (in Spanish). 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  9. ^ "Florence Cassez y Alondra de la Parra: el fin de dos historias". Union Jalisco (in Spanish). 2013-01-24. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  10. ^ Matthew Westwood (2015-10-24). "QSO's Alondra de la Parra: first woman to head a state orchestra". The Australian. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  11. ^ "Queensland Symphony Orchestra announces acclaimed Conductor Alondra de la Parra as Music Director" (Press release). Queensland Symphony Orchestra. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
  12. ^ Cosic, Miriam (2016-07-21). "Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra fires up Queensland Symphony Orchestra". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2017-10-03. (subscription required)
  13. ^ "Queensland Symphony Orchestra announces its 2020 season" by Angus McPherson, Limelight, 20 August 2019
  14. ^ "Conduct! Every Move Counts - Films - home".
  15. ^ "La Comunidad de Madrid designa a Alondra de la Parra la nueva dirección de la ORCAM por su amplia experiencia internacional y conexión con el público" (Press release). La Comunidad de Madrid. 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  16. ^ Rick Fuller (2017-07-12). "Conductor Alondra de la Parra: 'The whole world is watching Mexico now'". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  17. ^ "Leading Ladies of Entertainment". Latin Recording Academy. Retrieved September 11, 2022.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alondra de la Parra.
Cultural offices
Preceded by
Héctor Guzmán
 Artistic Director, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco
2012–2013 		Succeeded by
Marco Parisotto
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