ASCAP presents Victor Herbert Award to ASCAP member Tania León New York, NY — On May 17, 2013, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) presented the Victor Herbert Award to ASCAP member Tania León, Founder & Artistic Director of Composers Now Festival and Distinguished Professor at City University of New York. The award, given during ASCAP's 14th annual Concert Music Award, was given to León in celebration of her 70th year, and for her achievements as composer, conductor, educator, mentor, composer advocate and exemplary musical citizen. The 2013 Concert Music Awards recognize the achievements of honorees who represent the diverse aesthetic spectrum of the concert music world. Other honorees include Jon Deak, Steve Smith, and Morton Gould. For more information, visit: www.ascap.com/press/2013/0513-14th-annual-concert-music-awards-to-honor-tania-leon-jon-deak.aspx Inura broadcast over 250 radio stations on the WFMT Radio Network Tania León's Inura, for voices, strings, and percussion, performed by Son Sonora Ensemble and Dance Brazil Percussion and conducted by Tania León, was aired on Chicago-based WFMT on March 10th as part of "Latin-American Music by Elbio Barilari." The show is now going national and international with broadcasts on more than 250 stations of the WFMT Radio Network, from Alaska to Puerto Rico and including Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and the Philippines. Inura was a 55th Grammy Award Nominee and a 13th Latin Grammy nominee for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition". Watch a YouTube video of Inura. Order the CD. Tania León receives commission from New York State Council on the Arts The New York State Council on the Arts has presented a commissioning grant to Tania León to compose a quintet for pianist Ursula Oppens and the Cassatt String Quartet. The work will be premiered in the spring of 2014. El Manisero at The Fourth Universalist Society Tania León's El Manisero was performed by Choral Chameleon (Vince Peterson, Artistic Director) at the "She Sings" concert on March 13, at The Fourth Universalist Society on the Upper West Side. Led by Artistic Director Tania León, fourth installment of Composers Now Festival begins Feb. 2 This citywide, month-long celebration will kick off with "The Music of now" — a daylong marathon at Symphony Space — and will include more than 40 events at venues across the city, highlighting some of today's most diverse and captivating music. www.composers-now.org
Released last fall by Albany Records (TROY1284) on León's CD In Motion, Inura is performed by Son Sonora Ensemble / Son Sonora Voices / DanceBrazil Percussion, directed by Judith Cluman, and conducted by Tania León. Winners will be announced on February 10, 2013. For more information, visit the 55th Annual Grammy Awards website. Tania León at University of Chicago for Colloguium Series Tania León visits the University of Chicago to give a lecture entitled "Polyrhythmia in the Music of Cuba" as part of the Visiting Committee Colloquium Series. The lecture will take place on Friday, October 19, 2012 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm in the Logan Center for the Arts, Lower Level, Room 028. Click here for more information. Tania León's Batey on WQXC Tania León's Batey was featured on the WQXC playlist for May 20, 2012. Tania León's Ácana at the Miami New Music Festival Tania León's Ácana was performed at the Miami New Music Festival in May of 2012, with the composer also acting as conductor. Tania León nominated for Latin Grammy Award for Inura Tania León has been nominated for a Latin Grammy Award, in the "Best Classical Contemporary Composition" category, for Inura. Released last fall on her CD In Motion (Albany Records, TROY1284), Inura is performed by Son Sonora Voices, directed by Judith Cluman, with Son Sonora Ensemble / DanceBrazil Percussion, and conducted by Tania León. Winners will be announced on November 15, 2012. For more information, visit the Latin Grammy Awards website. String Trio Á Tres Voces to premiere at 2012 Leaf Peeper Concerts Tania León's new work, Á Tres Voces (For Three Voices), for string trio, will premiere on October 27 at the 2012 Leaf Peeper Concerts, under the musical direction of Sanford Allen. Performers include Sanford Allen, violin; Juan-Miguel Hernandez, viola; and Astrid Schween, cello. Also on the program are W.A. Mozart's Duo for Violin and Viola and Max Reger's String Trio. At St. James Church, at the intersection of routes 205 and 66 in Chatham, NY. For more information, call (518) 325-5613 or visit www.leafpeeperconcerts.org. Inura featured on WFMT Tania León's original score for ballet, Inura, performed by Son Sonora Ensemble and Dance Brazil Percussion and conducted by León, was featured on WFMT, Sunday, June 3rd. "Two Cuban Composers," hosted by Elbio Barilari, aired in Chicago last February and nationally since then on more than 50 radios stations across the U.S. The program also featured composer Esteban Salas. For more information, go to: http://blogs.wfmt.com/fiesta/ Inura can also be heard on Tania León's latest recording, "In Motion," released by Albany Records last year. Tania León in Johannesburg as Mellon Distinguished Visiting Scholar During the summer of 2012, composer/conductor Tania León has been appointed Mellon Distinguished Scholar at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will be in residence at the Wits School of Arts from July 16 - August 24. The position was created to provide vital inspiration to faculty and students and the community at large regarding cutting-edge research in the arts, and to build new bridges between performing arts and other contemporary modes of composition such as music for drama theatre production and interactive media. As part of her appointment, León will lead seminars on composition and interdisciplinary research, and participate in conversations on jazz composition and improvisation and choral music in the context of traditional and contemporary music. León will also conduct performance workshops with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Academy Youth Orchestra and give a public talk at the Wits School of Arts on August 21. The composer's appointment as visiting scholar also includes lectures in Durban, Cape Town, and Soweto. Airi Yoshioka presents Swiss premiere of León's Abanico Airi Yoshioka will give the Swiss premiere of León's Abanico for solo violin and interactive computer at the Festival de la Cité de Lausanne on Thursday, July 12. The concert will highlight her CD, Stolen Gold (Albany Records, TROY1305), featuring León's Abanico. For more information: 2012.festivalcite.ch/programme/spectacles/stolen-gold/ Tania León featured on Swedish Radio
Sverige Radio's P2 channel is airing a series hosted by award-winning cultural journalist Birgitte Tollan. New York - spearheads and cross-border commuters takes a look at some of the world's premier female classical musicians, including Tania León. Tollan came to New York to personally interview León about her work and her life. Tania León's work included in scholarly publication This past June, Carmen Cecilia Piñero Gil's article, "Compositoras latinoamericanas contemporáneas: exilios, identidades y creación", which includes a discussion of Tania León's work, was included in Teoria, Critica e Music na Atualidade, published by the University Federal de Rio de Janeiro's School of Music.
Tania León at the John Duffy Composers Institute Tania León will take part in the 2012 Virginia Arts Festival as Visiting Faculty in the John Duffy Composers Institute, as a composer mentor and resident composer. Founded by the Virginia Arts Festival in 2005, the John Duffy Composers Institute is dedicated to the inspiration, creation, and performance of new music by living composers. For more information visit the website. Bailarín on WDAV Classical Public Radio David Starobin's recording of Tania León's Bailarín featured on WDAV: the solo guitar will start this week's Concierto, running on various stations around the country, from May 19-25. On Saturdays at 10pm on WDAV and wdav.org the flagship/producing station. Click for more info and to stream WDAV: Concierto on WDAV.org.
Tania León in Norton's Musics of Latin America. "The most up-to-date and comprehensive Latin American music survey available," Musics of Latin America features the works of Tania León and is edited by Robin Moore (Univ. of Texas, Austin) and Walter Aaron Clark (Univ. of California, Riverside). The book covers "one of the most musically diverse regions in the world, [and] emphasizes music as a means of understanding culture and society." For more information and to order a copy, visit W.W. Norton's website. Two Cuban Composers on 98.7 WFMT (Chicago) WFMT Chicago will feature the music of Tania León on Sunday, June 3, in a program titled "Two Cubans," during Elbio Barilari's Latin American music show, Fiesta!" Featuring two Cuban Composers born over two hundred years apart — Esteban Salas, born in 1725, and Tania León, born in 1943 — the playlist includes Salas' Vayan unas Especias, Tu Mi Dios Entre Pajas, and Toquen Presto a Fuego, and León's Inura. Click for more info and to stream the program live on June 3: WFMT Chicago.  New recording! Colin Sorgi (violin) and Jooeun Pak (piano): ...Eco de Violin For more information: click here to visit Indiana University/Jacobs School of Music's Latin American Music Center's page about the CD. Click here to buy or download the CD from CDBaby. CareerGirls.org features Tania León. CareerGirls.org, an organization dedicated to providing young girls of all income levels and ethnic backgrounds with the academic tools and support they need to achieve their professional aspirations, features Tania León in a series of videos in their "I want to be a Performing Arts Professional" section. Visit the site and watch the videos. Tania León's named music director of Symphony Space's Composers Now Festival. Symphony Space names composer Tania León as Artistic Director of the Composers Now Festival, the acclaimed city-wide, multi-institution, month-long music event that highlights today!s composers.
"We are thrilled that Tania is heading the Composers Now festival as Artistic Director," says Laura Kaminsky, Artistic Director, Symphony Space. "Tania is a multi-faceted musician and an international figure in the music world. She has carved a niche for herself in contemporary music as a composer, conductor, and music director. Her enthusiasm for contemporary composers will shape the festival, introducing compelling new work and amazing music-makers. Read the press release.  New recording! October 1: Albany Records releases In Motion (featuring Haiku, and the world premiere recording of Inura) Tania León conducts the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, Son Sonora Ensemble and Voices, and DanceBrazil Percussion in this recording of her compositions for dance. Haiku (for narrator and mixed ensemble) was originally choreographed by Walter Raines, and premiered in 1973, and Inura (for voices, strings and percussion) was originally choreographed by Carlos dos Santos, and premiered in 2009. Click here to buy this recording from Amazon.com. *NEW*: Click here for a gallery of photos from Dance Theatre of Harlem's and DanceBrazil's performances of Haiku and Inura. Tania León's music featured on WNYC's New Sounds. WNYC's "New Sounds," featured Tania León's Haiku and Inura, from the Albany Records CD, "in Motion," on the October 25th program, entitled Music from Latin America. "New Sounds" airs every night at 11pm on 93.9 FM in the New York area. Listen to the entire program online. See the YouTube video of Tania León's newly released CD, In Motion (Albany Records). The video features excerpts from two works originally composed for dance: Haiku created during Tania's tenure as music director of the Dance Theater of Harlem (choreographed by Walter Raines), and Inura created for Dance Brazil (choreographed by Carlos dos Santos). Photographers are Marbeth (for Dance Theater of Harlem) and Nan Meville (for Dance Brazil). Order the CD. Abanico for violin and interactive computer on violinist Airi Yoshioka's new CD, "Stolen Gold." Released earlier this month by Albany Records, Yoshioka's album features seven electro-acoustic works from women composers including León, Karen Tanaka, Milica Paranosic, Anna Rubin, Linda Dusman, Alice Shields and Becca Schack. Abanico was commissioned by the University of Maryland for Airi Yoshioka, and it premiered in 2007 at the Americas Society, NYC. Buy the CD from Amazon.com. Listen to a Podcast of Tania León Interviewed by Philip Glass: The interview was recorded live at The James and Martha Duffy Performance Space at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn on February 8, as part of 651 ARTS LIVE & OUTSPOKEN series. Visit BOMBLOG to listen to the podcast. Listen to a Recording of Rimas Tropicales: Set to poetry by Carlos Pintado, León's three songs were premiered in the summer of 2011 in San Francisco by the Girls Chorus conducted by Susan McMane. The work was commissioned by Classical Movements, Inc. as part of the Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program and dedicated to Susan McMane and the Girls Chorus. Click here to listen. Watch Tania León Conduct L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève: This performance of Pablo Casals' El Cant dels Ocells took place at Vitoria Hall in Geneva (Switzerland) and featured Pascal Michel on the cello. Click here to watch the video on YouTube. View Photos from Tania León's Mosse Lecture: The University of Humboldt, Berlin, has posted photos from Tania Leó's lecture, Border Crossings, which can be viewed here: www.mosse-lectures.de/web/index.php/en/content/archive/SS11.html Scroll to the lower third of the page (just below Claudio Abbado), or search the page for "Tania Leon" to find the relevant section. Tania León Featured in New Slayton Essay Collection: Michael K. Slayton's Women of Influence in Contemporary Music is a collection of nine essays focusing on women who have made significant contributions to American music. Tania León is featured, along with Elizabeth Austin, Susan Botti, Gabriela Lena Frank, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Cindy McTee, Marga Richter, and Judith Shatin. Tania's chapter includes an interview, a detailed analysis of Indigena and other works, and a biography. The book reflects the shifting societal landscapes in the United States over the last seven years and offers a rare glimpse into the styles and attitudes of gifted women and their work. Women of Influence in Contemporary Music is published by The Scarecrow Press, and can be ordered here. 2011 Latin Grammy nomination: Tania León's work, To and Fro, as performed by the Nodus Ensemble on their album, "Sonidos Cubanos (Innova 322), has been nominated for a 2011 Latin Grammy, for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. Click here for more information about the Grammy nomination, or here for more information about the recording. 'Access to the Arts' Award: Each spring Symphony Space pays tribute to the artists, philanthropists, corporations, and others who share in its dedication to providing high-quality arts programming to a wide range of audiences. On April 11, at its second annual ceremony, the prestigious Access to the Arts award was presented to composer Tania León. Other recipients honored were author E.L. Doctorow, composer/performer Arturo O'Farrill of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, and Symphony Space board member William L. Haines. Click here and here for more information. Mosse Lectures: Tania León has been invited to speak at the prestigious Mosse Lectures at the University of Humboldt, Berlin, on May 26, 2011. The lecture, Border Crossings, will discuss cultural thresholds in the syncretic evolution of music. Click here for more information.  New recording! NODUS Ensemble — Sonidos Cubanos Click here to buy this recording directly from Innova. * To and Fro was a 2010 Latin Grammy nomination for Best Classical Contemporary Composition!!! Upcoming Events - 2013 March 25-26, 2013 March 21, 2013 March 13, 2013 January 29, 2013 Premieres: Abanico for violin and interactive computer. Swiss premiere by Airi Yoshioka. Festival de la Cité de Lausanne, July 12, 2012. Origenes. Premiered by Monarch Brass as part of the International Women's Brass Conference, conducted by Victoria Bond. June 7, 2012. Rimas Tropicales. Premiered by the San Francisco Girls Chorus, San Francisco, CA. June 9 and 11, 2011. Cuarteto No. 2. Premiered by the Harlem Quartet, New York, NY. May 14, 2011 Cumba Cumbakin. Premiered by the Harvard Wind Ensemble, Boston, MA. March 6, 2010. Esencia para cuarteto de cuerdas. Premiered by the Del Sol Quartet, San Francisco, CA. May 8, 2009. Inura, original score for ballet. Premiered by Dance Brazil. Skirball Center, NYC, Mar. 19-22, 2009. Tiempo en Clave for violin and percussion. Premiered by Ana Milosavljevic and Alex Lipowski. The Times Center, NYC. Oct. 24, 2008 Estampas for SATB. Premiered by Chicago a capella. Chicago, IL. Apr. 19, 2008 Ácana for orchestra. Premiered by Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Carnegie Hall, NYC. Live broadcast on WNYC-FM (93.9). April 1, 2008 Ancients for 2 Sopranos, flute, clarinet, percussion, viola, cello. Commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts for Terry Rhodes. March 27, 2008 Raices for mixed ensemble. Premiered by Latin Fiesta, Philadelphia, PA. Sept. 22, 2007 Abanico for violin and interactive computer. Premiered by Airi Yoshioka. America's Society, NYC, May 9, 2007. Alma for flute and piano. Premiered by Marya Martin. Weill Recital Hall, NYC. March 29, 2007. Atwood Songs for Soprano and piano. Poetry by Margaret Atwood. Premiered by Eileen Strempel and Sylvie Beaudette. Syracuse University, NY. March 25, 2007. Reflections for Soprano, piano, clarinet, alto sax, trumpet, 2 percussion, string quintet. Premiered by Tamara Haskin and the Son Sonora Ensemble, Tania León, conductor, The Gatehouse, NYC, Nov. 9-14, 2006. Toque for mixed ensemble. Commissioned and premiered by Opus 21. May 20, 2006, Symphony Space, NYC. Variacíon, for solo piano. Society for American Music Annual Conference, in Chicago, Il on March 15-29, 2006. Anna Briscoe, pianist. Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel (arr. León). Commissioned and premiered by the Albany Symphony. David Alan Miller, conductor. 2005 Samarkand for narrator, chorus, children's chorus and mixed ensemble. Collaboration with Wole Soyinka. Shaw Center for the Performing Arts, Baton Rouge, LA. March 2005 Tumbao, for solo piano. Commissioned and premiered by Elena Riu. Published by Boosey & Hawkes, London. 2005 Commissions: String trio commissioned by Clarion Concerts to honor music director Sanford Allen. 2011 Piano work for Adam Kent, commissioned by the Foundation for Iberian Music. 2011 Piano work for Anthony de Mare, part of LIAISONS: Re-Imagining Sondheim from the Piano. 2011 Work for piano and percussion for Jade Simmons and Craig Hauschildt. 2010 Band work for Harvard University Band. 2010 Piano solo works for and commissioned by Vassily Primakov. 2010 New Work. Commissioned for the San Francisco Girls Chorus by Classical Movements, Inc. as part of the Eric Daniel Helms New Music Program. 2010 String Quartet for the Harlem Quartet. Commissioned by The ASCAP Foundation and The Sphinx Organization. 2009 Inura, Original score for new ballet. Choreography by Carlos dos Santos. Commissioned for Dance Brazil Company. 2009. New Work for piano and percussion. Commissioned for Jade Simmons and Craig Hauschildt. 2010 Cumba Cumbakin for band. Commissioned by Harvard University Band. 2009 Tiempo en Clave for violin and percussion. Commissioned by Ana Milosavljevic. 2008 Ancients for 2 Sopranos, flute, clarinet, percussion, viola, cello. Commissioned by Carolina Performing Arts for Terry Rhodes. 2008 Estampas for vocal ensemble. Commissioned by the Chicago a cappella. 2008. Ácana for orchestra. Commissioned by Purchase College and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with support from the New York State Music Fund. 2008. Esencia for the Del Sol String Quartet. Commissioned by the Fromm Foundation. 2006 Recent recordings: ...Eco de Violin (Sorgi and Pak)) In Motion (Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, Son Sonora Ensemble and Voices, and DanceBrazil Percussion) Stolen Gold (Airi Yoshioka) Sonidos Cubanos (NODUS Ensemble) (In) Habitation - Musical Settings of Margaret Atwood Poetry by American Women Composers Eight Visions - A New Anthology for Flute and Piano (Flute Recital (21st Century): Marya Martin) Tania León: Singin' Sepia (Six Compositions, 1992-2002) Timbrando (Meridien Arts Ensemble) New Music for Baritone & Chamber Ensemble (Thomas Buckner) To Have and to Hold (Sequitur) Family Album ( New Music with Guitar Vol. 7) (David Starobin, guitar) Polytopia: Music for Violin and Electronics (Mari Kimura, violin) Salsa Nueva (Elena Riu, pianist) Percussion (Edith Salmen) Awards and Honors: Mellon Distinguished Scholar at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. 2012 Recent Events - 2012 September 21, 2012 September 14, 2012 July 12, 2012 June 7, 2012 May 25, 2012 May 2, 2012 April 27, 2012 April 21, 2012 Recent Events - 2011 November 30, 2011 October 29, 2011 October 20, 2011 October 13, 2011 October 9, 2011 September 11, 2011 September 2, 2011 July 28, August 6 and 10 2011 June 9 and 11 2011 May 26, 2011 May 14, 2011 May 10 2011, 7:30 PM March 28, 2011, 7 PM March 18, 2011, 11:45 AM -12:15 PM March 13, 2011, 8 PM March 9, 2011, 7:30 PM March 7, 2011, 7 PM February 21, 2011, 5:30 PM February 13, 2011, 3 PM February 12, 2011, 6 PM February 8, 2011, 7 PM February 5, 2011, 8 PM | ||
Tania León's Inura is a Grammy Nominee for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" in 55th Annual Awards Ceremony
A vital personality on today's music scene, León is highly regarded as a composer and conductor recognized for her accomplishments as an educator
and advisor to arts organizations. León "has distinguished herself as a proponent
of music without category beyond a standard of excellence," remarked long-time
music commentator Howard Mandel in an article for Ear Magazine.