NYTimes.com: 'Tania León’s Cuban heritage influenced her Cuarteto No. 2, whose rhythms evoked Son Cubano'

[Tania Justina León]

The New York Times

Music Review

Latino Music, From Tango Back to the 16th Century

By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER

Published: May 16, 2011

“Since their founding in 1978, the annual Wall to Wall 12-hour marathons at Symphony Space have focused on a single composer; a genre, like opera; or a region, as did last year’s survey of music from behind the Iron Curtain. On Saturday the Wall to Wall Sonidos program explored Latino culture, with performers and composers from Spain and Central and South America representing myriad styles, including 16th-century vocal polyphony, tango, contemporary string quartets and Latin jazz.”

“Tania León’s Cuban heritage influenced her Cuarteto No. 2, whose rhythms evoked Son Cubano, a style of music that developed in the 1930s. The finely wrought piece received its premiere in a committed performance by the Harlem Quartet in the closing section of the evening, devoted to Cuban music. That segment, which concluded after midnight, also included the premiere of Arturo O’Farrill’s 'Still Small Voice,' with the composer conducting the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and the LaGuardia High School Senior Chorus.” [The website of the Afro-Cuban composer and conductor Tania León (b. 1943) is http://www.tanialeon.com/; she is also profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Music of Tania León at 'A Festival of Latin Musics' Feb. 12, Williams College, Williamstown, MA

[Tania León]

The website of the Afro-Cuban composer and conductor Tania Justina León (b. 1943) is http://www.tanialeon.com/; she is also profiled at AfriClassical.com:

Friday, January 28, 2011

iberkshires.com

“WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College Department of Music presents this festival dedicated to Latin Cultures and to the late Steven Dennis Bodner who was very actively making the festival possible as a way to support Latin Music. The festival starts on Friday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. with the Momenta Quartet at '62 Center and continues with a variety of music on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall, concluding with a concert at 8 p.m. in Chapin Hall on the same day. These free events are open to the public. This is a celebration of Latin American music–its contemporary expressions, heritage, and legacy as bridges between peoples.”

“On Saturday evening Williams Chamber Players members Ronald Feldman, Doris Stevenson, and Joana Genova will present selected movements of the Piazzola trio, Four Seasons. Violist Noah Fields '11, and guests Martha Mooke and Duo Iberoamerica will also take the stage in the more intimate Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall to perform music by Modesta Bor, Alberto Ginastera, Aldemaro Romero, Tania León, Marcos Balter, Astor PIazzolla, and Williams faculty member Ileana Perez Velazquez.

“The Saturday evening portion of the festival then moves to the spacious and elegant Chapin Hall. The larger student ensembles present more works of great contemporary Latin American composers. This not only provides an opportunity to experience modern music inspired by Latin America: this is a chance to hear the popular ensembles Zambezi Marimba Band and Williams Jazz, Percussion, and Brass Ensembles all in one venue. These ensembles present music by Armando Bayolo, Alberto Ginastera, Alexandre Lunsqui, Allem Carvajal, guest composer Tania León, and faculty member Andy Jaffe.”

NYDailyNews.com: 'Composer Tania Leon's music to be played in her native Cuba for the first time'

[Tania León; Photo by Melville for New York Daily News]

NYDailyNews.com

Composer Tania Leon's music to be played in her native Cuba for the first time

BY Maite Junco

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, October 6th 2010

“Composer Tania León returns to Havana this week - 43 years after she left Cuba - to hear two of her works played in a festival. The music of the celebrated Cuban composer and conductor Tania León will be performed at a festival in her native island for the first time ever this week. 'This is a very personal trip,' said León, explaining that when she left Cuba to study in 1967, her beloved grandmother, a force in her musical career, begged her to stay. 'I told her to have faith, that I would return as a musician,' she said. 'I never forgot that conversation.'

“It has taken 43 years, but León, 67, a distinguished professor at Brooklyn College who heads the school's composition studies department, has been officially invited to Havana, where two of her works will be featured at the second annual Leo Brouwer Festival of Chamber Music, which starts Friday. León's impressive résumé includes being a founding member and the first music director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has directed orchestras, and her music has been performed across the globe, from Paris to Beijing, from Johannesburg to Bogotá.

“This year, she was elected to a coveted membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her piece 'To and Fro (4 Moods),' from the CD 'Sonidos Cubanos,' is up next month for a 2010 Latin Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. Encouraged by her grandparents, León started taking piano lessons at a private conservatory in Havana when she was 4.

“'My grandfather bought me a real piano when I was 5 years old. You have to be crazy to do that,' she said with a laugh. After León left Cuba, she never saw her grandmother again; she died four years later. But she has traveled to the island through the years to visit her mother, Dora Ferrán, who just turned 85 and will be at the concert.” [The website of Tania Justina León (b. 1943) is http://www.tanialeon.com/; she is also profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Harvard Arts Beat: 'Tania León is performing and conducting with the Harvard Wind Ensemble' Mar. 6

[Tania León]

OFA.FAS.Harvard.edu/wordpress/

Harvard Arts Beat

Music is a Language: Tania León

March 4th, 2010

Scott Lozier

"Before she could read and write her mother brought her to a conservatory at age four. Tania León found that music was a language for her. It’s how she understands culture and people. As an adult she became a CPA just in case music didn’t work out. It did.

“In March 2005, Ms. León joined forces with Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka, with whom she collaborated on her award-winning opera Scourge of Hyacinths. She’s worked with Jamaica Kincaid, John Ashbery ‘49 and Derek Wolcott. In March 2009, the ballet Inura, with music by Tania León and choreography by Carlos dos Santos was premiered by Dance Brazil at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Tania León is performing and conducting with the Harvard Wind Ensemble on Saturday 3/6 at 8 pm.”

"The Harvard Wind Ensemble will premier Tania Leon’s 'Cumba Cumbakin,' a composition commissioned in celebration of the 90th Anniversary of the Harvard Band. 'Cumba Cumbakin' incorporates authentic Cuban dance rhythms into more traditional chamber music.' [Tania Justina León (b. 1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com and has a website at http://www.TaniaLeon.com]

Tania León of Composers-Now.org: 'I would love to see composers as visible as poets.'

[Tania León]

On Jan. 5, 2010 AfriClassical posted “Tania León a co-leader of 'Composers Now' panel; Works of George Walker & Nkeiru Okoye Heard.” The AllMusic Blog discusses the concept of this exceptional event:

Blog.AllMusic.com
“Composers Now, a new consortium of New York arts organizations, is sponsoring a weeklong festival highlighting the contributions composers make to the cultural fabric of society. During the week of February 22-28, the festival will present an intensive schedule of concerts and discussions at a wide range of venues, such as Symphony Space, the Morgan Library and Museum, the Manhattan School of Music, Merkin Concert Hall, Miller Theatre at Columbia University, the Jazz Gallery, Harlem Stage, and El Museo del Barrio. It’s being sponsored by an impressive consortium of organizations, including ASCAP, BMI, and Meet the Composer’s Metlife Creative Connections Program.

“Tania León
The festival is the brainchild of New York-based composers Tania León and Laura Kaminsky. León draws an analogy with National Poetry Month. 'We need to find a way to raise awareness and appreciation of this important community of creators. I would love to see composers as visible as poets.' She and Kaminsky enlisted grassroots support among New York arts organizations to sponsor events that would bring living composers and their work to the attention of broader audiences. Kaminsky, who serves as the group’s coordinator, calls the formation of Composers Now a demonstration of the goodwill and shared vision of the city’s music community. The plan is for the festival to become an annual event in New York, and Kaminsky envisions it expanding across the country, giving audiences in many communities exposure to living composers, not only in concert halls, but in schools, community centers, and retirement communities. [Tania Justina León (b. 1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Tania León & Roberto Sierra Are Guest Composers at Wellesley College July 19-August 2

[Roberto Sierra; Tania León: Singin' Sepia; Bridge 9231 (2008)]

ComposersConference.org
“Founded in 1945, the Chamber Music Center gives amateur chamber musicians and singers the opportunity to participate in ensembles coached by professional faculty musicians, live and socialize with composers from the Composers Conference, and play chamber music informally with old and new friends. The shared experience and synergy of these diverse musicians create a unique musical community and a very special musical opportunity for all the participants.

For summer 2009 (July 19 - August 2), we welcome Roberto Sierra (Cornell University) and Tania León (City University of New York) as distinguished guest composers. Concerts of traditional and contemporary repertoire are free and open to the public.” [Tania Justina León (b. 1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Arts & Answers: 'Tania León, Tuesday March 17, 9:30-10 PM'; WKCR-FM 89.9 & WKCR.org

On Feb. 27, 2009 AfriClassical posted: “Tania León's 'Inura' Performed by DanceBrazil at NYU's Skirball Center March 19-22”. The piece began: “DanceBrazil presents a program including Inura, composed by Tania León, on four consecutive days, from Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, March 22”. Today we were happy to read this on the blog “Lit Between the Ears”: “Arts & Answers: Tania León, Tuesday March 17, 9:30-10 PM. Posted by William Spear in >> Dramatic Radio, >> News. Host Anne Cammon interviews acclaimed composer Tania León as she prepares for the premiere of Inura, her dance score to be performed by DanceBrazil.

Details: Arts & Answers; Anne Cammon, Host; WKCR-FM 89.9 FM, http://www.WKCR.org” The station, whose motto is “Columbia University Radio in New York”, gives this description of the format of the program: “Arts and Answers: Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30-10pm. A thirty minute conversation with one or more artists that discusses a single work of art.” [Tania Justina León (b. 1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com Her website is: http://www.TaniaLeon.com/]

Tania León in Exhibit 'Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement'

[“Singin' Sepia” Bridge 9231 (2008)]

Living their dreams
Latino achievements aim to inspire in new display at MSU Museum
Matthew Miller • mrmiller@lsj.com • September 17, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal
“EAST LANSING - Diego Garza says his family represents 'the American dream times 35.' That number stands for the 35 members of the Garza family who have earned college degrees.” “The Garzas are the only family featured in an exhibit called 'Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement,' which opened Tuesday at the Michigan State University Museum.” “The bilingual exhibit, developed by the Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives and sponsored, in part, from the Ford Motor Co. Fund, opened in Washington, D.C., four years ago. It has traveled to 13 cities. MSU, where it runs until January, will be its last stop. The idea behind it, according to Rocky Egusquiza, director of community development and international programs for the Ford Motor Co. Fund, was inspiration.”

"Tania León, a Cuban-born composer and founding member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, is one of the 24 individuals featured in the exhibit. Like Garza, she was on campus Tuesday for the opening. She said the value of the exhibit, in her eyes, is 'not only addressing the Latino community and Latino society, but actually trying to bridge the gap of understanding among all of us.'"  [Tania León (b. 1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]