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 interested in a wide variety of repertoire, including symphonic, contemporary, and operatic works.
As guest conductor Fernanda has led professional and youth orchestras in the United States, Argentina, and Brazil. Some previous engagements include conducting the National Orchestra of Argentine Music "Juan de Dios Filiberto" at the CCK National Auditorium in Buenos Aires, and collaborating with Demaskus Theatre and Kassia Ensemble for the production of Missy Mazzoli's opera Song from the Uproar in Pittsburgh. Fernanda Lastra is also a passionate advocate for Latin American composers, especially those from Argentina. In 2020, she created Compositores.AR, a cycle of interviews of Argentinian composers in collaboration with MúsicaClasicaBA in Buenos Aires.
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," and in November 2024, she will be presented with the "Career Advancement Award" at the Women in Classical Music Symposium held by the Dallas Symphony.
In 2022, Fernanda was selected as a conducting associate and in 2021 as conducting fellow for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music led by Mtro. Cristian Măcelaru. In 2019, she was a finalist for the Assistant Conductor position at the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, and in 2018 Fernanda was awarded First Prize for the conducting competition held by the Opéra de Baugé, France.
Fernanda Lastra has served as assistant conductor in public opera performances such as the University of Iowa’s 2019 production of Little Women by Mark Adamo. In April 2019 she joined the production of Cavalleria Rusticana in Neuchatel, Switzerland as Assistant conductor of Musiques des Lumières and in November conducted for Revival Theatre Company the production of the legendary Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma.
As a conductor-educator, Fernanda has held various roles. From 2021 to 2022, Fernanda Lastra served as the Director of Orchestras at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, where she led the Symphony and Chamber orchestras. She also worked as an Assistant Conductor for the University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra from 2018 to 2022 and as an Assistant Conductor for the Penn State Philharmonic Orchestra from 2016 to 2018. During the 2016-2017 season, Fernanda served as the Principal Conductor for CPYO (Central Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra), and from 2008 to 2012, she held the position of Professor of Orchestral Activities at El Sistema, Argentina. Additionally, from 2005 to 2016, she worked as an Assistant Professor at La Plata National University, Argentina.
Inspired by a firm belief in the transformative and significant impact that music can bring to our communities, Fernanda founded La Trama Ensamble in 2013. For four years, she served as its artistic and musical director, showcasing a diverse repertoire and nurturing a strong audience through community engagement initiatives and a four-concert-per-year season.
Trained as a pianist with viola as secondary instrument, Fernanda holds two Bachelor’s degrees from La Plata National University in Orchestral and Choral Conducting, a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from Penn State University, and a Doctoral degree in Orchestral Conducting from The University of Iowa. In addition, her early artistic career training includes ten years of ballet and over fifteen years as a chorus member, performing both masterworks and a cappella repertoire.
