Lourdes Starr

LOURDES STARR, a trained musician with degrees in performance and composition, currently leads Astral Artists in Philadelphia, as President and CEO. In this role, she supports Astral in fulfilling its newly refined mission and commitment to empower outstanding emerging musicians to shape purposeful and sustainable careers that inspire, connect, and excite diverse audiences. Starr's passion for increasing access to the arts remains the focus of much of her work.

With more than 24 years of experience in the classical music world, she has a strong track record of supporting highly talented young musicians. Her vast range of expertise in orchestral touring, concert production, special event planning, fundraising, the creation of digital content including online courses, summer music festivals, and digital arts education has spanned various administrative roles with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Curtis Institute of Music, and ArtistYear. During her time at Curtis, she co-founded and co-chaired Curtis’ Council for Inclusive Excellence, an initiative that explored and addressed systemic racism in Philadelphia and the classical music industry. Starr was also the driving force behind the Curtis Summer programs, including the highly successful Young Artist Summer Program, Chamber Music for Adults, and Sphinx Performance Academy at Curtis.

In her volunteer work, Starr serves organizations in both the musical and education worlds. For the past 15 years, she has served on the Board of Directors of Network for New Music, which has been referred to as “the premiere new music organization in Philadelphia" due to its ongoing mission to commission and perform a diversity of new musical works that strengthen the new music community, while building support for it by engaging in collaborations and educational activities. Previously, Starr has served in board roles for Montessori Schools in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, NJ. Currently, she also serves as Vice President of the Board of Trustees for the Greater South Jersey Chorus, of which she is an active member, as well as the Board of Directors of Appel Farm Arts Center in NJ. In addition, Starr has designed and led workshops on the topic of building racial equity and accessibility within classical music, while presenting at national conferences in Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta. She currently resides in Haddonfield with her two teenage children and their feisty cockapoo.