Leadership speaker Alondra de la Parra represents the future of classical music. As a spirited and insightful keynote speaker, Alondra de la Parra inspires audiences to consider leadership from new perspectives.

It takes time and tact to build a career as a symphonic conductor, and many young conductors tend to play it safe. Alondra de la Parra chose to blaze her own trail, and classical music is immensely richer for it.

Born in New York City to Mexican parents studying abroad, de la Parra was raised largely in Mexico City. She studied music in both Mexico City and NYC, intending to become a conductor. Before she earned her Master’s degree, de la Parra founded the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, which champions Mexican composers. The orchestra’s debut recording, “Mi Alma Mexicana,” went platinum within two months.

Her professional career has been just as bold. De la Parra has conducted the London Philharmonic, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris, among others. Moreover, in 2017, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra made her the first music director for an Australian orchestra. De la Parra began her QSO tenure with an interpretation of Mahler’s challenging Symphony No. 2 that the music press enthused “Mahler himself surely would have been happy with.” Her subsequent engagements include debuts with the Vienna Radio Symphony and Staatskappelle Dresden.

Additionally, De la Parra hosts the Deutsche Welle program “Musica Maestra,” a multimedia vehicle for conversations about music. For all her accomplishments, de la Parra’s influence extends beyond the world of music. Mercedez Benz named her an International Brand Ambassador in 2018.