A year after graduating from the University of Arts in Havana in 2018, Jessica Altarriba left Cuba for Spain, planning to pursue her dream of a conducting career in a country where she spoke the language and was confident she would feel comfortable.

But COVID-19 soon hit, and things didn’t quite work out. Looking for a change, she applied for a Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship but was turned down for lack of experience. But famed conductor Marin Alsop, the program’s founder, saw what she described as “huge potential,” so she reached out and urged Altarriba to begin master’s studies under her tutelage at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore.