Tania Justina León Conducts Premiere of “Ácana” at Purchase College Feb. 29

Posted by Westchester.com
Thursday, 14 February 2008

“Purchase, NY - The Purchase Symphony Orchestra performs the world premiere of Ácana, a new work by world-renowned composer and conductor Tania León February 29 at 8 PM in the Purchase College Performing Arts Center.

Ms. Leon, a visiting artist-in-residence at the School of the Arts, Conservatory of Music, will serve as guest conductor of this performance entitled From the African Diaspora, which also includes works by Revueltas, Ginastera, Ellington and Debussy.” Duke Ellington will be represented by his “Black, Brown & Beige Suite”.

“Ms. Leon has based Ácana on a poem of the same name by Cuban poet laureate Nicolas Guillen published in 1944. An Ácana is a tree that is indigenous to the American meridian. The tree serves different purposes in different regions, and looking at the tree from different perspectives results in different ideas about it. 'The piece conjures up the invisible connection of the roots of a very strong tree as they travel through the soil of the Americas,' explains Ms. Leon. 'A sonic palette of sounds that invisibly connect the cultures and soul of the peoples in the American continent.'

Ácana was commissioned by the Purchase College Conservatory of Music with the support of the New York State Music Fund.” Tania Justina León is profiled at AfriClassical.com Her own website is http://www.TaniaLeon.com/

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