Felipe Tristán

Award-winning Mexican conductor Felipe Tristán has appeared on leading stages across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, earning recognition for his dynamic artistry, cross-cultural vision, and bold programming. He currently serves as Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of Ballet de Monterrey. Highlights of recent seasons include performances with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, San Antonio Philharmonic, Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, Prague Philharmonic, Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria, and orchestras across Mexico.

Operatic credits range from Falstaff and Il trovatore to La bohème, Carmen, and Don Giovanni, alongside ballet productions of Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet and the world premiere of Maximiliano & Carlota.

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).

That same year, he took the podium at the MET Gala in New York, appeared in the DISNEY+ special In Vogue: The 90s, and completed a residency with the San Francisco Ballet. A champion of contemporary voices, he has led over 40 world premieres as Principal Conductor of the Texas New Music Festival in Houston, collaborating with GRAMMY®-winning organizations such as Belongó Afro Latin Jazz, the New York Philharmonic, and Carnegie Hall.

He has appeared at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall Citywide, and in projects uniting classical music with fashion, dance, and film. As Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, he is, according to OperaWire, “launching a new era” and redefining what a symphony orchestra can be in the 21st century.

The Violin Channel highlights his vision to create “a space where we celebrate the classical canon but also innovate and experiment,” a philosophy reflected in international tours, inventive cross-genre collaborations, and programs that speak to today’s audiences.

A featured speaker at TEDx Zhengzhou and profiled in FORBES: Working Journal, Tristán is the First Prize Winner of the Klangkraft Orchester Dirigierwettbewerbs in Germany and the International Conductors Workshop & Competition in Atlanta. He trained at the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey, the University of Houston, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, later pursuing advanced conducting studies at the Juilliard School Extension and earning a Certificate in Leadership Principles from Harvard Business School Online. He completed his formal education at the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana, graduating cum laude under Maestro Arturo Tamayo, a disciple of Pierre Boulez who premiered several works by Iannis Xenakis and Bruno Maderna. He resides in New York City.