About Felipe Tristán
Felipe Tristán stands among the most distinguished Mexican conductors of his generation, acclaimed for a career that spans the Americas, Europe, and Asia and for performances that blend artistry, innovation, and purpose. Recognized for his versatility across symphonic, operatic & ballet repertoire, Tristán currently serves as Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the San Antonio Philharmonic, Principal Conductor of Ballet de Monterrey, and Conductor at the Manhattan School of Music.
In 2024, he made history as the first Mexican conductor to receive the Muzyczne Orły Award from Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for Best Recording, honoring his album Flute Concertos – Penderecki & Reinecke with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, released on the prestigious Hänssler Classic label. That same year, he completed a residency with the San Francisco Ballet, returned as guest conductor to the iconic MET Gala in New York under the artistic direction of Condé Nast Artistic Director, Anna Wintour and film director, Baz Luhrmann, and appeared in the Disney+ documentary In Vogue: The 90s, featuring his preparation process for the event.
Following his acclaimed Carnegie Hall debut in 2016, Tristán has led orchestras around the world, including the San Antonio Philharmonic, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, Zhengzhou Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous orchestras and ballets across his native Mexico. Under his leadership, the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra has toured internationally to Mérida (2024) and Mexico City (2020). Recently, he made his Vienna debut conducting the Prague Philharmonic at the historic Hofburg Imperial Palace in a gala concert attended by Archduchess Alice and Archduke Thaddeus Habsburg-Lorraine of Austria, adding to the historic significance of the occasion.
Passionate about contemporary, popular, and genre-spanning music, his recent projects with GRAMMY®-winning institutions such as Belongó Afro Latin Jazz have brought him to collaborate with Carnegie Hall Citywide, Lincoln Center, and the New York Philharmonic Bandwagon series and Día de los Muertos showcases. In 2024, he also produced the album Schubert – Works for Flute & Strings, featuring musicians from the Met Orchestra. Additionally, Tristán is Principal Conductor of the Texas New Music Festival in Houston in the summers, where he has led over 30 world premieres and mentors emerging composers and conductors.
His artistic vision combines the classical canon with innovation, building bridges between tradition and contemporary creation. His leadership has been profiled in FORBES Working Journal by Michael Fiedler, and he has appeared as a featured speaker at TEDx Zhengzhou, in China. Winner of First Prize at the Klangkraft Orchester Dirigierwettbewerbs (Germany) and First Prize at the International Conductors Workshop & Competition (Atlanta), Tristán holds postgraduate studies from the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana – where he graduated cum laude with the highest honors – alongside studies at the University of Houston, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey, with advanced conducting courses at the Juilliard School Extension, and an executive certificate in Leadership Principles from Harvard Business School Online.
Upcoming engagements include Verdi’s La Traviata, two productions of The Nutcracker in San Antonio and North Carolina, Giselle with Ballet de Monterrey, Juan Gabriel: A Philharmonic Tribute, as well as a Tour of Austria and Hungary with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, and debuts in Bulgaria, with the Sofia Philharmonic and in Prague, with the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at Prague’s Smetana Hall, and his return engagement with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria, in Italy. Also, his debut at the historic Tonhalle Zürich, one of Switzerland’s foremost stages.