A native of Madrid, head of the Orchestra, Counterpoint and Fuge of the Royal Music Conservatory of Madrid where she obtained the titles of Professor of Advanced Musical Pedagogy, Music Theory, Accompaniment and Transposition of the Piano, Composition, Piano, and with the Maestro García-Asensio, Direction of the Orchestra.

She has undertaken special courses in Musical Pedagogy, Musical Therapy, Sacred Music, Musicology, Direction of the Orchestra, Direction of Music Choir, Interpretation, Composition and Paleographic Musicals.

With the Maestros Donatoni, Petrasi, Ferrara and Rilling she furthered her studies in Composition and Direction of the Orchestra in Italy and Germany.

In 1984, she founded the "Town Orchestra of Madrid" and since its presentation in the Royal Theatre, in November 1985, she has frequently performed in the Chamber and Polyphony series of the Royal Theatre and National Auditorium of Madrid- organized by the Ministry of Culture-, she has developed a strong relationship with and has partaken in the most nationally prestigious concert series, including National and International Festivals of Autonomous Communities of Galicia, the Principality of Asturias, in Cantabria, La Rioja, Catalonia, Castilla-León, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, Valencia, Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Madrid.

In the ceremonial oath of his Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias, Don Felipe de Borbón, in front of the Spanish Parliament, on the 30th of January 1986, Mercedes Padilla was invited by the Royal Family to conduct the National Hymn in the House of Commons.

She has conducted the principal Symphony Orchestras of Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Portugal, the United States and the Philippines.

In Spain, she has performed in front of the Symphony Orchestras of the Principality of Asturias, the Symphony Orchestra of Castilla and León, the Classical Orchestra of Madrid, the Orchestra of the Community of Madrid, the City Orchestra of Málaga, the Classical Orchestra of Murcia, the Symphonic Orchestra of Estremadura and the Mediterranean Symphonic Orchestra.

In Occidental Europe she has toured with the Bulgarian Chamber Orchestra, and has received notable acclaimed success from specialized critics.

On the occasion of the royal visit of the King and Queen of the Philippines, in February 1998, she was invited- representing Spain- to conduct in front of Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain, the Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir of Manila, in the city's National Auditorium.

In 1999, she was nominated the director of the Symphony Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory of Music.

And she has received the following rewards: "National Award of Music" (1989), "A Collaboration of Natives from Madrid" (1994), "Advice from a lady from Majadahonda" (2003) and The White Cross of Military Merit (2007).