Breaking Orchestral Ground in Australia

I saw this news yesterday and had to share it! When lots of people think about conductors (especially orchestra conductors), they picture men. Worldwide, fewer than a dozen women lead major orchestras. That's why I make it a point in class to share videos of multiple conductors like Gustavo Dudamel and Marin Alsop. 

Here's some news from the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Australia: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/mexican-conductor-alondra-de-la-parra-makes-history-n454731. The news article has information plus a very short video. 

Here's my summary: Alondra de la Parra is a 34-year-old conductor who was born in New York and has lived in Mexico since she was two. She's traveled the world for music, conducting in places like Italy, Brazil, Sweden, Japan, Germany, France, and the United States. She just won the job of chief conductor and music director for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Australia! She's the first woman to hold that position in that ensemble, which is one of the three largest orchestras in Australia.

Here's a video of her rehearsing Arturo Marquez's Danzon No. 2 with the Orchestre de Paris last year. She was the first woman and the first Mexican to get that opportunity, which is neat. She's got some great facial expressions and some energetic left hand gestures! It looks like she would be a fun conductor to work with, especially with such a fun piece to play. I performed the band transcription of that my senior year of college, and it was a blast - we couldn't sit still while playing it! (In the video of de la Parra rehearsing it, you get a great view of the violas.) 

This is Gustav Mahler's 2nd symphony, which Ms. de la Parra will be leading the QSO in next year. In this video, she's conducting a Brazilian orchestra playing the same piece. The video is just a small section of the entire work, which is about an hour and a half long. Mahler (the composer) was known for writing very brass-heavy, long symphonies. Ms. de la Parra is excited to be performing it at the same age that Mahler was when he wrote it. 

DRUM CARD OPPORTUNITY: What is one thing that stands out to you about Alondra de la Parra's conducting style? (You can reply with your response. Be specific, and don't plagiarize from my descriptions.)