ABOUT

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, conductor Sara Aldana is recognized for her expressive clarity, collaborative spirit, and commitment to making music a force for connection and inclusion. She recently served as Cover Conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra, supporting performances and education programs while assisting conductors such as Jader Bignamini, Marie Jacquot, Jeannette Sorrell, Kevin John Edusei, and Tabita Berglund. She previously held positions as Assistant Conductor of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra.

In the 2025-26 season Sara continues her conducting studies under the guidance of Maestra Marin Alsop at the Peabody Institute, and took part in several prestigious fellowships at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and the National Orchestral Institute (NOI). Through these programs, she worked with mentors including Cristian Măcelaru, Marin Alsop, Mei-Ann Chen, and Octavio Mas-Arocas. She will also make her debut with the Bogota Symphony Orchestra, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and return to the Reno Chamber Orchestra for a subscription concert.

Recent engagements include her role as conducting fellow and assistant to Alondra de la Parra at Festival Paax GNP in Mexico with the Impossible Orchestra, guest conducting for Detroit’s American Romanian Festival, and premiering Concert Black, a new musical by Mattie Levy.

Sara is committed to making music accessible and meaningful through education and community engagement. While with the Reno Chamber Orchestra, she led student workshops and helped develop a Latinx music library for educators, broadening classroom repertoire in the region. In Austin, she launched Fiesta: A Celebration of Latin American Music, a bilingual concert supported by the Rainwater Innovation Grant. Bringing together local musicians, teachers, and students, the project highlighted the richness of Latin American repertoire and fostered partnerships with Latinx organizations.

An accomplished violinist, Sara holds two degrees in violin performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where she won the university’s Concerto Competition performing Barber’s Violin Concerto. She has appeared as a soloist with the Balcones Symphony Orchestra and the Austin Civic Orchestra, and performed on a violin by Oliver Radke, generously loaned through the Virtu Foundation.

She received her Masters in orchestral conducting at the University of Michigan under the mentorship of Professor Kenneth Kiesler. Her mentors also include Kelly Kuo, Douglas Kinney-Frost, Sally O’Reilly, Brian Lewis, and William Fedkenheuer.

Beyond the podium, Sara finds inspiration in soccer, both as a player and a proud fan of 

FC Barcelona.