Conductor Alondra de la Parra in pictures

Born in New York, Alondra de la Parra spent the greater part of her childhood in Mexico, her parents' homeland. After studying composition in Mexico City, she moved back to New York at age 19 to study piano at the Manhattan School of Music, finishing both her Bachelor and Master's degree in orchestral conducting with honors. Despite her new position in Australia, Mexico remains her base.

Alondra - the name translates as "songbird" - took piano lessons at age seven and cello later on. By age 13, the choice was clear: She would become a conductor. In this, she was encouraged by her father, a writer. Her favorite "instrument" is now a full orchestra. "The goal is not to make them like you," she says of her musicians. "The goal is to make them play their very best."

Youth and beauty are two things this conductor brings to the equation, but those qualities take a backstage to her musical talent. Even though female conductors remain an exception to the rule, Alondra de la Parra - an ambassador for UNICEF and an official cultural ambassador of Mexico - has never had to think about gender issues in her profession.

"It's no easy profession," says Alondra of the conductor's trade, "neither for a woman nor for a man." Back in in 2003, she began working in music education, giving instruction to children and youth in New York public schools. Part of that is conveying to young people how an orchestra works. That can include writing their own orchestral music even without knowledge of musical notation.

In 2004, the Mexican musician, then a 23-year-old piano major in New York, founded the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas to build a platform for composers and soloists from Central and South America. In 2010, the orchestra's first album, "Mi Alma Mexicana" (My Mexican Soul), marked the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence. It went platinum in Mexico within weeks.

Having conducted around 70 orchestras in Europe, the US, Japan and Brazil by age 36, de la Parra is an internationally known performer. Here she leads the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. In 2013 she stepped in on short notice for principal conductor Tugan Sokhiev for a few weeks. She lists conductors Ken Kiesler, Charles Dutoit, Marin Alsop and Simon Rattle as her mentors.

Praised as "pure dynamite" and a musician who "dances with sound," Alondra de la Parra believes in the power of music as a transformative, healing force. Beginning in July, 2017, she can be seen as a protagonist and reporter in the DW web-video series "Musica Maestra." Her approach to classical music and joy in experimenting with other genres gives users a modern view of the classical idiom.

As backstage reporter in "Musica Maestra," Alondra jams with the Venezuelian ensemble Recoveco. Then they join the Orchestre national d’île-de-France in Paris' Philharmonic Hall. One of her goals is to bring Central and South American music to the mainstream repertory, noting that Mexico alone has a musical tradition going back thousands of years.

Since early 2017, de la Parra has been chief conductor, artistic director and community arts leader of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. With the orchestra celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, big projects are scheduled - and her three-year appointment signals revitalization and new adventures for the orchestra from Australia.