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Alondra de la Parra

This Mexican-New Yorker is leading one of Europe’s top orchestras


OCTOBER 5, 2022 12:42 PM EDT

Alondra de la Parra is one of the most notorious figures in music. De la Parra has amassed incredible international success and recently became the conductor of the Milan Symphony Orchestra.

Born in New York and spending her childhood years in Mexico, de la Parra has been involved in the world of music from a young age. She studied piano and conducting at the Manhattan School of Music and, when she was only 23 years old, founded the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (POA), which showcased the work of young composers and performers in the Americas.

Emotion Award 2019 In Hamburg© GettyImages
Alondra de la Parra at the Emotion Award in Germany.

De la Parra then became the first Music Director of an Australian Orchestra when working with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Since, she’s worked in a variety of prestigious productions, including Mozart, Thamos King in Egypt, and concerts in Switzerland, Paris, Berlin, England and more. She conducted a performance of “West Side Story” at Mexico’s Auditorio Nacional, which had an attendance of 10,000 people.

In the years 2021 and 2022, De la Parra had a list of exciting engagements, including concerts in New York, performances with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and a Spanish tour alongside the famous violinist Maria Duenas.

Alondra de la Parra© GettyImages
Alondra de la Parra leading the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas

Over the next two years, De la Parra will be busy directing the Milan Symphony Orchestra to great success. She’s expected to lead the Orchestra twice a year. She has two sons, Luciano and Julian, and is a cultural ambassador of Mexico.