Born in Bogota, Colombia, Sara Aldana leads a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and arts educator. Sara currently serves as the Assistant Conductor of the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Associate Conductor of the Michigan Youth Symphony Orchestra, and additionally serves as cover and assistant conductor for a number of the University of Michigan’s orchestral ensembles.

 

In 2022, Sara was awarded the maximum grant amount as a recipient of the Rainwater Innovation Grant to produce Fiesta: A Celebration of Latin American Music, a bilingual concert experience that aimed to share the breadth of Latin American music with a diverse audience through collaborations with local Latinx organizations. Sara is passionate about bringing community together through music and has served as director of Austin Soundwaves Community Orchestra, co director of UT Lab Orchestra, and co director of UT String Project Chamber Orchestra.

 

An accomplished violinist, Sara holds two degrees in violin performance from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with and served as teaching assistant to Professor Brian Lewis. During her time at the University of Texas, Sara performed as soloist with Balcones Symphony Orchestra, Austin Civic Orchestra, and University of Texas Symphony Orchestra. She currently plays on a violin made by Oliver Radke, generously loaned to her through the Virtu Foundation. As a lifelong learner, Sara has had the opportunity to be mentored by a number of gifted teachers including Sally O’Reilly, Brian Lewis, William Fedkenheuer, and Douglas Kinney-Frost. In recent summers, she has attended The Conductor’s Retreat at Medomak, The Project at Brevard Music Center, and the Kent Blossom Music Festival. 

 

Sara is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting at University of Michigan under the guidance of Professor Kenneth Kiesler.