A 2026 Taki Alsop Conducting Mentee, Aldana served as Cover Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 2023–2025, supporting performances and education programs while working alongside conductors including Jader Bignamini, Marie Jacquot, Jeannette Sorrell, Kevin John Edusei, and Tabita Berglund, among others. She has held positions as Assistant Conductor of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Conducting Fellow and Assistant Conductor to Alondra de la Parra at Festival Paax GNP in Mexico.

Sara has conducted the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra, and other ensembles in masterclasses and intensives led by Mei-Ann Chen, Johannes Schlaefli, Cristian Măcelaru, and Marin Alsop. Most recently, she debuted with the Bogotá Symphony Orchestra and the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. She will spend Summer 2026 at the Aspen Conducting Academy as a Conducting Fellow. Previous summers have included fellowships at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, the National Orchestra Institute, and the Conductors Retreat at Medomak.

Committed to making music accessible and meaningful, Sara places education and community engagement at the center of her work. As Assistant Conductor of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, she led student workshops and developed a Latinx music library for educators. In Austin, she founded Fiesta: A Celebration of Latin American Music, a bilingual concert supported by the Rainwater Innovation Grant, celebrating Latin American repertoire and forging partnerships with Latinx cultural organizations in the community. Her bilingual education initiatives celebrate Latin American heritage while building meaningful connections between orchestras and the communities they serve. In addition to her conducting work, Sara is a dedicated teaching artist with Austin Soundwaves — an El Sistema USA program — where she has served on orchestra faculty since 2021.

Sara has studied with Marin Alsop and Joseph Young at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and holds a Master's in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan under Professor Kenneth Kiesler. Her mentors also include Kelly Kuo and Douglas Kinney-Frost. An accomplished violinist, she holds two degrees in violin performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Beyond the podium, Sara finds inspiration in soccer and is a proud fan of FC Barcelona.