By: Daniel Nardini
[We continue our Hispanic Heritage Month series on Latino composers with the Cuban American composer Tania Leon]
Tania Leon is a Cuban American composer, conductor and lecturer. Born in Havana, Cuba, on May 14, 1943, she grew up in Cuba and was brought to the United States by her parents. Having grown up in both cultures, Tania Leon has created musical scores that mirror both countries’ rich cultural heritage. Besides having written musical scores for movies and given numerous solo piano concerts, Leon has conducted many symphonies around the world. Her opera Scourge of Hyacinths has been performed on at least 22 occasions in France, Germany, Mexico and Switzerland. Her orchestral work Desde was premiered by the American Composers Orchestra.
In recognition of her contributions, Tania Leon was presented with the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also been presented with honorary doctorate degrees from Colgate University in New York State and Oberlin College in Ohio. Leon is a visiting lecturer at Harvard University and visiting professor at Yale University. Since 1985, she has been a teacher at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, and is on the faculty of City University of New York’s Graduate Center in Manhattan. Tania Leon has been interviewed many times on TV stations ABC, CBS, CNN, PBS, and Univision.
Tania Leon
By: Daniel Nardini
[We continue our Hispanic Heritage Month series on Latino composers with the Cuban American composer Tania Leon]
Tania Leon is a Cuban American composer, conductor and lecturer. Born in Havana, Cuba, on May 14, 1943, she grew up in Cuba and was brought to the United States by her parents. Having grown up in both cultures, Tania Leon has created musical scores that mirror both countries’ rich cultural heritage. Besides having written musical scores for movies and given numerous solo piano concerts, Leon has conducted many symphonies around the world. Her opera Scourge of Hyacinths has been performed on at least 22 occasions in France, Germany, Mexico and Switzerland. Her orchestral work Desde was premiered by the American Composers Orchestra.
In recognition of her contributions, Tania Leon was presented with the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also been presented with honorary doctorate degrees from Colgate University in New York State and Oberlin College in Ohio. Leon is a visiting lecturer at Harvard University and visiting professor at Yale University. Since 1985, she has been a teacher at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College, and is on the faculty of City University of New York’s Graduate Center in Manhattan. Tania Leon has been interviewed many times on TV stations ABC, CBS, CNN, PBS, and Univision.