Despite his youth, Antonio Méndez has already had great success with such orchestras as the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Wiener Symphoniker. In 2013 Méndez made his North American debut at the invitation of Lorin Maazel when he conducted acclaimed performances of La Voix humaine by Poulenc at the Castleton Festival; he made his US symphonic debut conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2013.

Méndez was born in 1984 in Palma de Mallorca and began his musical studies at the Conservatori Professional de Música de Mallorca in piano and violin. He also attended the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid to study composition and conducting. Since 2007 he has lived in Germany, where he completed his conducting training at the Universität der Künste Berlin with Professor Lutz Köhler, as a member of the Dirigentenforum (Conductor's Forum) of the German Music Council, and at the Hochschule für Musik 'Franz Liszt' Weimar with Professor Nicolás Pasquet. Méndez first attracted international attention as a prizewinner in the prestigious Malko Competition in Copenhagen in 2012 and as a finalist in the 2013 Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award.