Founder, Philarmonic Orchestra of the Americas
www.poamericas.org

Sometimes talking about your dreams as reality can help to make them come true…

Take Alondra de la Parra. She started introducing herself as the artistic director of the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, before there was a Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas.

That’s one of the ways the now 26-year-old Mexican conductor and pianist launched the orchestra’s debut at The Town Hall in New York in 2004. Today the non-profit continues to perform music from North, Central and South America and showcase emerging talent from these regions.

Ladies Who Launch in New York… how does immersing yourself in Latin music sound for a fun night out? You can receive a 25 percent discount on tickets to the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas’ next concert, featuring Brazil guitar duo Dougles Lora and Joao Luiz, on Thursday, April 5th at 8:00 p.m. at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University. To purchase tickets please go to: www.instantseats.com/events/POAg and choose the corporate rate of $15 per ticket - regular price is $20, or call 212-854-7799.

Dreams and Disappointments

Alondra: “I grew up in Mexico City. When I arrived when I was 19 in New York, I had studied piano and music composition in Mexico and had the dream of coming to New York and learning from the best musicians possible. When I got here, I realized how difficult it was not only for me, but also for others in my country and other countries in Latin America, to come to major cultural cities like New York and have not only the opportunity to learn, but also to be showcased and perform.

“That idea got stuck in my head and also the fact that very little Latin America orchestral music was performed in the U.S. It was always the same four or five pieces that would get performed. There was a disconnection and a gap there. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to make an orchestra that only focuses on that music and focuses on opening doors for young performers to come to New York and grow?’”

One Thing Leads to Another

“What happened was the Consulate of Mexico requested I put together a concert featuring Mexican music. I basically put the idea together to make a huge 65-piece orchestra at Town Hall and they said, ‘You’re crazy. We were thinking very small. A three to four person type of thing.’ So because I already had all of the project thought out, the next thing was to find sponsors.”

Pitching Her First Sponsor

“I was at school at the Manhattan School of Music doing my piano degree and conducting another orchestra as well, and there was going to be a festival of Mexican art. I thought it would be great to put this concert into the Mexican festival. I called (Spanish language media company) Televisa, which has been our major sponsor from the beginning… I called them and said, ‘I’m the artistic director of this orchestra and would like to request your sponsorship.’ But the orchestra didn’t exist.’”

Creating an Orchestra While in College

“It came through - they helped us. That was how the first concert happened. The audience was so pleased… we got good reviews… it was amazing. My teacher Kenneth Kiesler, who has been a very important influence in everything I’ve done, said, ‘You must be crazy if you’re not going to make this an ongoing thing.’

“From there it was looking for more sponsors… basically anyone who was interested in the orchestra became involved with it. I started to create a board of directors. We got all the legal things in place… all this while I was in school. It was a lot of not sleeping, a lot of work, no vacations, because I was all the time trying to do this.”

From Then to Now

“We have five concerts scheduled for this year with support from major figures from the music scene like Paquito D’Rivera and Tania Leon and many other people. All of a sudden, we’re like a toddler orchestra. We’re planning our first tour to Mexico sponsored by Deutsche Bank.”

A Different Kind of Concert

“It’s not about just coming to our concert, listening to the concert and going home. It’s about meeting us, making friends with us, having a relationship with the orchestra. I usually talk at the concerts and involve the audience directly. We’re going to start an arts and education program where we’re going to go to schools in the five boroughs to educate children in areas of music making and composition.”

‘I Don’t Want to Watch from My Seat for the Rest of My Life’

“I was a very curious kid and always amazed by music and musicians. I always thought that making music seemed like the most incredible thing someone could do. I was so impressed with musicians. How can they do that? How can they make those beautiful sounds? How can they communicate so much without words? I thought… ‘I don’t want to watch them from my seat for the rest of my life and think that I would have loved to do that.’”

Support from Parents

“My parents always took me to a lot of concerts. It was my Dad who said, ‘Why not be a conductor?’ My mother is a sociologist and my father studied film and does work in a printing business. They are strong-willed people… when they have their mind on something, they go do it. My mother is a perfectionist. I inherited her obsession for detail and improvement and hard work. If you don’t know how to do something, and you work hard, you figure it out. You don’t have to be a natural for everything you do.

“There are a lot of things you can stretch yourself to do that you don’t think you can do. A lot of people told me I would never be a musician, I would never be a pianist, I would never be many things.”

Lesson from Conducting Coach

“I’ve been really blessed with good teachers, especially Kenneth Kiesler, who was the person who basically turned me into a conductor. Having someone so accomplished who believes in you - that really helps.

“He always has the most healthy point-of-view to put your mind in a state where it can grow. Basically put yourself aside, that’s key. You have to take care of yourself, but also put yourself aside and serve the music and serve the musicians. Forget a little bit about yourself while you are there.”

Greatest Challenge

“The hardest thing for me is not to let go, not to stop or give up. It’s not easy… you’re opening a new path. Sometimes you’re like, ‘What am I doing? Why don’t I turn around and take one of the streets that are already built?’ To remember why I’m doing it, sometimes it’s tiring. What’s been great about this orchestra is it hasn’t let me give up. Because each time I think, ‘This is it’, then something incredible happens by itself… a major step in the orchestra… so of course it keeps going.”

Music Makes the Back-Office Bearable

“We did our first POA Young Composers’ Competition, which has been truly one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. It’s a young composers’ competition that reaches out to young composers to submit a piece for the orchestra. We got together a world-renowned panel of judges. We got entries from over 11 countries. We just decided who the winner would be. We can’t announce it yet, but the fact that this person is going to have an opportunity to have their music performed here, that motivates me to do all the back-office things that I don’t like doing.”

Favorite Music at the Moment

What I would really recommend right now is any of Osvaldo Golijov’s music. For popular music… my brother is a pop singer and I think I listen to his music the most. His name is Manelick de la Parra.”

Bedside Reading

“I have a very simple book that my teacher introduced to me. It’s called ‘The Tao of Leadership’ (by John Heider). Whenever I’m stressed out and I don’t know how to figure out things, I read a little bit, a couple of pages. They’re like lessons sort of… you can apply them to wherever you’re at. It makes you look at things from a relaxed and focused perspective and look at things a different way.”

Words of Advice

“If the mission is clear and it’s a noble mission, then everything grows out of that. Work on your mission, work on your goal, make sure it’s solid and stands on its own. That’s really what you’re going to be selling, pushing for and getting involved in… that’s what people want to get involved in. I see a lot of people wanting to do things, but they don’t have a clear mission and clear direction, and sooner or later that’s not going to work.”

Be Happy about Hardship

“It comes from my grandmother, but my father always says it, too. Your enemies are your best friends in the sense that… whenever there’s someone who wants you down or wants to hurt you or stop your way, it’s actually great because it’s when you get to step up yourself and go over that obstacle. Every time there’s something difficult my father gets very happy… he says, ‘That’s great that someone doesn’t like you because they’re actually doing something very good for you.’ It’s all about learning and growing.”