July 10, 2026
Butler School of Music alumna Sara Aldana (B.M. Violin Performance '20, Artist Diploma '22) has been named Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, one of the nation's "Big Five" orchestras. The appointment places her alongside Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and some of the world's leading guest conductors while also allowing her to pursue another passion that has shaped her career: music education.
As assistant conductor, Aldana's responsibilities fall into two distinct roles. She serves as the principal conductor's understudy, attending every rehearsal and performance and mastering each score in case she is needed to step onto the podium at a moment's notice. She also serves as an extra set of ears in the concert hall, providing feedback on how the orchestra sounds from the audience's perspective, something that can be very different from what a conductor hears standing just a few feet from the musicians.
Her second responsibility centers on the orchestra's education and community engagement programs. Aldana will conduct youth and family concerts throughout the season, including performances of Peter and the Wolf. While some conductors view educational concerts as secondary to subscription performances, Aldana says they represent one of the most rewarding parts of her work.
That passion began at Butler's String Project.
Sara Aldana leads a group of children in the Butler School of Music's String Project.
During her years as a student, Aldana spent each week conducting hundreds of young musicians through the String Project under the guidance of longtime director Laurie Scott. "Laurie Scott is a diamond. She is the best educator that I have ever seen," Aldana said. "In my current job, I go to schools to perform, I give pre-concert talks, and whenever I do this, I think of Laurie Scott because all of my formation as an educator was through her."
Sara Aldana conducts the String Project orchestra at the Butler School of Music.
Aldana's path to Butler was anything but conventional.
Growing up in Colombia, she had never traveled outside her country until attending a music festival in Brazil during her final year of high school. Meeting musicians from around the world changed her perspective. "The world is so big, and I want to see it," she remembers thinking.
After beginning college in Colombia, she attended another festival in Minnesota and asked what it would take to study in the United States. Her teacher gave her a daunting answer. "I don't have a scholarship for you, and you don't speak English. If you want to study here, you'll need to redo high school."
For many students, that would have ended the conversation. For Aldana, it became the beginning of a new journey.
She earned a full scholarship to attend Shattuck-St. Mary's high school in Minnesota. While the boarding school is best known for producing elite hockey players, Aldana admits she never quite found her footing on the ice.
"Most of my friends played hockey," she said with a laugh. "I tried it once and basically spent the whole time hugging the walls of the rink."
After graduating from Shattuck-St. Mary's, Aldana enrolled at the Butler School of Music, where she studied violin performance with Professor Brian Lewis from 2016 to 2020 before completing an Artist Diploma while serving as Lewis's teaching assistant.
Sara Aldana, with the other members of Brian Lewis's studio.
Lewis, she says, transformed not only her playing but her entire philosophy of music. "Brian Lewis was incredible, not just in terms of my development as a violinist, but he changed how I approached music. He taught me to approach music from the heart."
Although Aldana arrived at Butler as a violinist, her future as a conductor emerged unexpectedly.
As an undergraduate, she won Butler's concerto competition and performed Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto with the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra under then-conductor Gerhardt Zimmermann. Working closely with Zimmermann sparked a fascination with conducting. "He had such a huge presence and sparked my interest in conducting," she said.
Sara Aldana performs Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto with the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra
That curiosity led her to enroll in conducting courses with then-faculty member Ryan Kelly. During her third semester, Aldana conducted the University of Texas Wind Ensemble as her final exam, the first time she had ever stood on a conductor's podium.
Sara Aldana leads the University of Texas Wind Ensemble in her first appearance on the podium as conductor with Ryan Kelly.
She immediately knew she had found her calling.
After the performance, Kelly invited her into his office. "I never say this, so don't take this lightly," he told her. "You need to become a conductor."
Around the same time, Aldana met Professor Douglas Kinney Frost during a guest lecture. She sought his advice about pursuing conducting, but only weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down campus.
Rather than ending their mentorship, it strengthened it.
The two met weekly over Zoom, studying scores together by singing and humming through orchestral works.
"It was him who got me through the pandemic," Aldana said.
Kinney Frost continued mentoring Aldana throughout her Artist Diploma and ultimately helped prepare her successful application to the University of Michigan, where she completed graduate studies in orchestral conducting.
Another mentor was Professor of Violin and Chamber Music William Fedkenheuer, who gave her weekly sessions on public speaking, leadership, and professional development that helped her define her voice as an artist.
All of these people helped her prepare for the biggest of stages in Philadelphia this fall.
As she prepares for her first season in Philadelphia, Aldana is especially excited about several milestones. She will make her official conducting debut with the orchestra in January, work alongside Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and join the orchestra on a tour throughout Asia.
She is also looking forward to working with one of her longtime musical heroes, Sir Simon Rattle. "I have seen every video that exists of him conducting," Aldana said. "I absolutely love his conducting."
For Aldana, the opportunity represents far more than a prestigious appointment. It is the latest step in a journey that began with a young violinist in Colombia dreaming of seeing the world, and one that continues to be guided by the teachers and mentors she found at the Butler School of Music.