Alondra de la Parra
Encyclopedia
Alondra de la Parra is a Mexican American
conductor. She is also the founder and artistic director of the New York
-based Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, an orchestra
that promotes young soloists and composers from the Americas
.
, de la Parra began her piano
studies at age 7 and the cello
at age 13. During adolescence she discovered her passion for conducting
and at the age of 16 moved to London
to pursue high school and music studies at the St Leonards-Mayfield School
.
In the year 2000 at age 19, de la Parra moved to New York City to study Piano and Conducting at Manhattan School of Music
. She obtained a BM in Piano Performance under the direction of Jeffrey Cohen and studied conducting with her mentor, Kenneth Kiesler, receiving an MA in Conducting in 2008. De la Parra has also been coached by Marin Alsop
, Charles Dutoit
, and Kurt Masur
.
De la Parra has presented more than twenty world premieres by composers not involved in the contemporary avant-garde, but in popular, easy to understand modern and film music, including Enrico Chapela, Paul Brantley, Paul Desenne, Eugenio Toussaint, Ernesto Villa-Lobos
and many more. Its significant rejection to the proposals of the modern musical Art in America has raised strong debates at the level of music criticism .
De la Parra has appeared as guest conductor with the Westchester Philharmonic, Buenos Aires
Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Mexico, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Veracruz, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes, Uruguay
’s Montevideo
Philharmonic and Mexico’s National Symphony Orchestra, among others. She made her Carnegie Hall
debut as guest conductor of the New York Pops Orchestra.
Future engagements include performances with the New World Symphony
, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
, Tivoli Symphony Orchestra
in Copenhagen
, Denmark, and Phoenix Symphony
, among others.
music for the Mexico Now Festival. A 65-piece orchestra concert was produced to critical acclaim from major publications.
It was at this event that de la Parra became the first Mexican woman to ever conduct a concert in New York City. Since its inception, POA has accomplished two international tours
, initiated a Young Composers' Competition, and established an Arts and Education Program, while also presenting an annual season in New York City.
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
conductor. She is also the founder and artistic director of the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
that promotes young soloists and composers from the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
Biography
Born at New York City and raised from the age of two years in Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, de la Parra began her piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
studies at age 7 and the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
at age 13. During adolescence she discovered her passion for conducting
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and at the age of 16 moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to pursue high school and music studies at the St Leonards-Mayfield School
St Leonards-Mayfield School
St Leonards-Mayfield School is an independent Roman Catholic boarding and day school for girls aged 11 to 18. It is situated in the village of Mayfield in East Sussex. The current headmistress is Miss Antonia Beary...
.
In the year 2000 at age 19, de la Parra moved to New York City to study Piano and Conducting at Manhattan School of Music
Manhattan School of Music
The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...
. She obtained a BM in Piano Performance under the direction of Jeffrey Cohen and studied conducting with her mentor, Kenneth Kiesler, receiving an MA in Conducting in 2008. De la Parra has also been coached by Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
, Charles Dutoit
Charles Dutoit
Charles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...
, and Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...
.
Career
De la Parra's recent conducting highlights include appearances with the New World Symphony, Houston and San Antonio Orchestras, concerts with the Singapore Sun Festival Orchestra working with Geoffrey Rush, the Russian National Orchestra collaborating with Joshua Bell and Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway, and Venezuela's Simón Bolivar Youth Orchestra. She was also awarded that orchestra's highest honor given to a musician.De la Parra has presented more than twenty world premieres by composers not involved in the contemporary avant-garde, but in popular, easy to understand modern and film music, including Enrico Chapela, Paul Brantley, Paul Desenne, Eugenio Toussaint, Ernesto Villa-Lobos
Villalobos Brothers
The Villalobos Brothers are a trio of virtuoso violinists, singer-songwriters, composers, arrangers, and multi-talented instrumentalists...
and many more. Its significant rejection to the proposals of the modern musical Art in America has raised strong debates at the level of music criticism .
De la Parra has appeared as guest conductor with the Westchester Philharmonic, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de Mexico, Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Veracruz, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
’s Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
Philharmonic and Mexico’s National Symphony Orchestra, among others. She made her Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut as guest conductor of the New York Pops Orchestra.
Future engagements include performances with the New World Symphony
New World Symphony Orchestra
The New World Symphony is the United States' only full-time orchestral academy preparing musicians for careers in symphony orchestras and ensembles...
, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra is a 40-member American chamber orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, considered by music critic Jim Svejda as "America's finest chamber orchestra".-History:...
, Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Dallas Symphony Orchestra
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra. It performs its concerts in the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States....
, Tivoli Symphony Orchestra
Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra
The Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra , also known as the Tivoli Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra which both serves as Danish Regional Orchestra for the island of Zealand and, for the summer season while the Tivoli Gardens are open, as resident orchestra in the Tivoli Concert...
in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark, and Phoenix Symphony
Phoenix Symphony
The Phoenix Symphony is a major United States symphony orchestra based in Phoenix, Arizona.Founded in 1947 when Phoenix had a population of less than 100,000, the orchestra began as an occasional group of musicians performing a handful of concerts each year...
, among others.
Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas
It was during her undergraduate studies at Manhattan School of Music that de la Parra created what would be the start of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. In 2004 the Mexican Consulate asked de la Parra to produce a concert featuring MexicanMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
music for the Mexico Now Festival. A 65-piece orchestra concert was produced to critical acclaim from major publications.
It was at this event that de la Parra became the first Mexican woman to ever conduct a concert in New York City. Since its inception, POA has accomplished two international tours
, initiated a Young Composers' Competition, and established an Arts and Education Program, while also presenting an annual season in New York City.
Awards
- Pablo Casals Award, Manhatthan School of Music
- League of American Orchestras, Women’s Conducting Grant
- 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 System of Orchestras (FESNOJIV)
- Gabe Wiener Merit Scholarship for an Outstanding Student
- Manhattan School of Music Taki Concordia Fellowship for Conductors Honorable Mention Award
- “El Micrófono de Oro” Award, (Highest price given yearly from the Mexican Broadcasting Association)
- Presser Merit Scholarship Award, Manhattan School of Music
- Amigos de la Música Music Award, Cuernavaca, Morelos