Felipe Tristán to Make Debut with Philadelphia Ballet

Mexican-American conductor Felipe Tristán will make his debut with Philadelphia Ballet as guest conductor of Cinderella, leading the company and orchestra at the Academy of Music. The engagement is part of Philadelphia Ballet's 2026/27 season.

"Live music is an essential part of the experience of ballet and the conductor is at the heart of that relationship between orchestra and dancer," said Angel Corella, The Ruth & A. Morris Williams, Jr. Artistic Director of Philadelphia Ballet, in announcing the season's guest conductors.

"Ballet asks a conductor to listen to the dancers as closely as to the orchestra, and Prokofiev's score for Cinderella rewards that listening in every scene. I am honored to join Philadelphia Ballet for this production," said Tristán.

Cinderella by Philadelphia Ballet

Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra

Felipe Tristán, guest conductor
Venue: Academy of Music, Philadelphia

Choreography: Ben Stevenson
Music: Sergei Prokofiev

About Felipe Tristán

Mexican-American conductor Felipe Tristán is 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 Ballet de Monterrey, and a member of the conducting faculty at the Manhattan School of Music.

His ballet repertoire includes Giselle, The Nutcracker, Romeo & Juliet and Balanchine's Serenade, among others, as well as the world premiere of former Royal Ballet principal Thiago Soares's Maximiliano & Carlota. He has worked with choreographers including Robbie Fairchild, Marcelo Gomes and Soares. Critic Armando Dájer wrote that "Tristán achieves a perfect synergy between the score and the dancers." He was assistant conductor of San Francisco Ballet's Carmen and associate conductor of Teatro Grattacielo Opera Company. As Principal Conductor of the Texas New Music Festival in Houston, he has led over 40 world premieres.

He has conducted the Prague Philharmonic, Sofia Philharmonic and Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and at Carnegie Hall and Vienna's Hofburg Imperial Palace. He has appeared at the Met Gala and in the Disney+ documentary In Vogue: The 90s. Following a decade-long relationship with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Tristán brought classical music into conversation with fashion, film and contemporary New York culture. Under his leadership, OperaWire noted he was "launching a new era" for orchestral life in Brooklyn.

In 2024 he became the first Mexican conductor to receive Poland's Muzyczne Orły Award, from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, for Best Recording with the Janáček Philharmonic (Hänssler Classic). In 2026 he received the Gold Medal Mayte Spínola from the ProArte & Cultura Group in Belgium. He resides in New York.

About Philadelphia Ballet

Founded in 1963 by Barbara Weisberger, a protégé of George Balanchine, Philadelphia Ballet is one of the nation's premier ballet companies and a true cultural treasure of Philadelphia. Furthering a sixty-year artistic lineage in Philadelphia, The Ruth & A. Morris Williams, Jr. Artistic Director Angel Corella leads an ensemble of 50 dancers from around the world and an ever-evolving repertoire of classic and contemporary works. The Dr. Carolyn Newsom Chief Executive Officer Shelly Power spearheads development and strategic plans to strengthen and expand the company's presence and impact locally, nationally, and internationally. Recognized as one of the top ten ballet companies in the United States, Philadelphia Ballet's 32-member Board of Trustees is led by Victoria Mars. In addition to its performances on the Ensemble Arts Philly Campus, Philadelphia Ballet serves more than 15,000 individuals across the region every year with hands-on arts education and engagement activities brought to children and adults alike regardless of ability or socioeconomic background. For more, visit philadelphiaballet.org or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Philadelphia Ballet is supported in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.