Felipe Tristán

Award-winning Mexican conductor Felipe Tristán performs on leading stages across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He serves as Interim Music Director of the San Antonio Philharmonic, the first Mexican-American conductor to lead the orchestra in its 87-year history, Principal Conductor of the Ballet de Monterrey, and is a member of the conducting faculty at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

"The most important Monterrey conductor of his generation."
— El Norte/Reforma

Following a decade-long relationship with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, culminating in his role as Artistic Director, Tristán built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of what an orchestra can be, bringing classical music into conversation with fashion, film, and contemporary culture, and establishing the ensemble as one of the most forward-thinking in New York. Under his leadership, OperaWire noted he was "launching a new era" for orchestral life in Brooklyn.

Recent seasons have brought him to the podium of the Sofia Philharmonic, the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria, among others across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

As artistic collaborator on the San Francisco Ballet's reimagined production of Carmen, with choreography by Arielle Smith, Tristán has worked from inside one of the country's leading ballet companies. Conducting credits on the ballet stage include The Nutcracker, Giselle, Romeo & Juliet, Serenade, Majísimo, and the world premiere of Maximiliano & Carlota, among others. Of his work in the genre, critic Armando Dájer wrote that "Tristán achieves a perfect synergy between score and dancers.

" Operatic credits include La traviata, Carmen, Don Giovanni, L'elisir d'amore, Falstaff, Il trovatore, La bohème, and L'amico Fritz, among others.

In 2026, he received the Gold Medal Mayte Spínola in Belgium, awarded at a ceremony attended by European royalty in recognition of exceptional contributions to international art and humanist values. In 2024, Tristán 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, for his album Flute Concertos: Penderecki & Reinecke with the Janáček Philharmonic (Hänssler Classic). His discography also includes recordings with flutist Krzysztof Kaczka and members of the MET Orchestra on the same label.

That same year, he conducted at the MET Gala in New York and appeared in the Disney+ documentary In Vogue: The 90s. His work consistently bridges classical music and the wider cultural world, with projects spanning fashion, film, and cross-genre collaboration, including a high-profile campaign with J.Crew and appearances at the MET Gala on multiple occasions. He has collaborated with institutions including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic, and HBO's Fandango at the Wall, as well as with GRAMMY-winning Belongó AfroLatin Jazz. He has led over 40 world premieres as Principal Conductor of the Texas New Music Festival in Houston.

First Prize Winner of the Klangkraft Orchester Dirigierwettbewerbs in Germany and the International Conductors Workshop & Competition in Atlanta, Tristán has also been a featured speaker at TEDx Zhengzhou and profiled in Forbes. His formal training culminated at the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana in Lugano, where he graduated cum laude under Maestro Arturo Tamayo, a direct disciple of Pierre Boulez. He resides in New York City.