Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra will conduct the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra in the prestigious Wiener Koncerthaus concert hall on January 27.

“It is an honor for me to be able to present for the first time in my career in Vienna, a city full of music and home of my most beloved composers. It fills me with excitement to work with the [Austrian Broadcasting Company] in a program that celebrates innovation as the unifying thread of the composers that comprise it,” she said.

The 39-year-old de la Parra, born in the United States but raised in Mexico, is one of eight official cultural ambassadors of Mexico and the country’s first woman to have conducted over 100 orchestras in 20 countries around the world.

She began studying piano in Mexico City at the age of 7 and developed an interest in conducting at the age of 13.

She is currently music director of the Queensland (Australia) Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held since 2015.

De la Parra’s concert in Austria will be her debut in Vienna, a city with a rich cultural history, especially with respect to classical music.

Her repertoire will include the contemporary compositions of Mexico’s Arturo Márquez as well as works by Brazilian Héctor Villa-Lobos, Ukrainian Sergei Prokofiev and Austrian Georg Friedrich Haas.

Celebrated percussionist Christoph Sietzen, currently featured as the concert hall’s “Great Talent,” will be among the performers that de la Parra will lead.

Founded in 1969, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian Broadcasting Company (ORF) radio station and the only radio orchestra in the country.

Unlike the majority of other orchestras in Austria, the RSO Wien puts substantial focus on contemporary classical music. It is also committed to transmitting happiness through music, awakening interest in the classical genre and inspiring children and young people to play music.

Source: Milenio (sp)