Día de los Muertos

Join Guest Conductor Fernanda Lastra, Trío Chapultepec, and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra to celebrate Día de los Muertos. Bring your family and be a part of this unforgettable celebration!

Program

Carlo Fernandez/Arr. Lang
Cielito Lindo

Juventino Rosas
Sobre las Olas

Juan Pablo Contreras
La Silla

Cantoral/Martinez Arr. Lackey
El Triste

Elizondo
Estampas Mexicanas Mov. III

Garrido Arr. Lopez-Yañez
Pelea de Gallos – Trío Chapultapec and Vanessa Alonzo,

Hernestrosa Arr. Lopez-Yañez
La Llorona – Trío Chapultapec and Vanessa Alonzo,

Piece performed by Trío Chapultepec

Fuentes/Ramirez/Guzman Arr. Lopez-Yañez
Popurri de Huapangos – Trío Chapultapec

Consuelo Velázquez Arr. Kazik
Besame Mucho – Trío Chapultapec and Vanessa Alonzo

Piece performed by Trío Chapultepec

Piece performed by Trío Chapultepec

Traditional Arr. Lopez-Yañez
Vista Alegre – Trío Chapultapec

Fernanda Lastra, Guest Conductor

Fernanda Lastra holds the position of Assistant Conductor, Diversity Fellow for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, under the mentorship of JoAnn Falletta.

In 2022, Fernanda was appointed Conductor Diversity Fellow and was promoted in 2023, accompanied by a one-year contract extension. In this role Fernanda serves as assistant conductor, cover conductor, and main conductor for the BPO Family Kids series, Music for Youth concerts, and community engagement performances. Fernanda also serves as a member of the BPO’s artistic team, the BPO’s music education committee and the BPO’s Diversity Council, among other responsibilities.

Born in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Fernanda Lastra is a passionate and creative conductor with a wide range of interests in repertoire, including symphonic, contemporary, and operatic works. Additionally, she has collaborated with artists such as Aida Cuevas, Jay White, Jeans’n Classics, and Michael Grandinetti for Pops and special concerts. In May 2025, Fernanda is scheduled to make her debut with the Buffalo Philharmonic in the classic series featuring pianist Avery Gagliano.

Besides regularly leading the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in several concerts as part of her role as Assistant Conductor, as a guest conductor Fernanda has led professional and youth orchestras in the United States, Argentina, and Brazil. Some of her previous engagements include conducting the Walla Walla Symphony in May 2024 as a music director candidate, as well as leading three performances of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale alongside musicians from the Boston Symphony at The Birch Festival in June 2024, held in the Berkshires, Massachusetts. As an assistant and cover conductor, Fernanda has had the opportunity to work alongside esteemed conductors such as JoAnn Falletta, Giancarlo Guerrero, Maximiano Valdés, Gerard Schwarz, Mei-Ann Chen, Joseph Caballé-Domenech, and Michael Francis, among others. 

Committed to featuring diverse voices in concert halls, Fernanda is an advocate for Latin American composers, particularly those from Argentina. She is equally dedicated to creating well-balanced and diverse programs that enhance the overall concert experience. Fernanda is passionate about community engagement and music education, as she believes in the transformative power of music to unite, heal, and to develop emotional intelligence.​

In 2023, Fernanda received a prestigious recognition from Argentina’s National Classical Radio at their annual “Premios Nacional Clásica” in the category of “established female conductor.” Additionally, in November 2024, she will be presented with the “Career Advancement Award” at the Women in Classical Music Symposium held by the Dallas Symphony.

Vanessa Alonzo

Houston native, Vanessa Alonzo created the role for three mariachi operas. She has performed with first class mariachi musicians including Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, Mariachi Los Camperos, and Mariachi Nuevo Tecalitlan. She studied mariachi and voice under the direction of the late Alfonso Guerra at the Houston community-based program Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA). In 2019, Alonzo created the role of Lupita for the world premiere of Houston Grand Opera’s El Milagro del Recuerdo/The Miracle of Remembering, which is a prequel to Cruzar la Cara de la Luna/To Cross the Face of the Moon, the first mariachi opera in the world. In 2021, she reprised the role for Arizona Opera’s production of El Milagro.

Trío Chapultepec

Trío Chapultepec is a traditional Mexican Trío ensemble that focuses on their unique style of American and Mexican Folk genres including Jazz, Mariachi, and Trio Romance. The members formed the Trío in late 2019 after several years of knowing and working with each other in Central Texas. The Trío is based out of San Antonio, Texas, and has worked professionally since its debut, including several concerts and Opera shows in the Texas and Arizona Opera communities.

After the primary Covid lockdown in the United States, Trío Chapultepec’s live performances and concerts were at an all-time low, however, this allowed the Trío to focus on their first CD, accompanying Houston-based Mezzo-Soprano Cecilia Duarte on their Collaborated Album: Reencuentros.

Meet the Musicians Here!

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