Tania León (1943- )
Tania
León is a vital new music personality, highly regarded as a composer
and conductor and recognized for her accomplishments as an educator and
advisor to arts organizations. Her work is, according to the French
newspaper Tribune de Genève, "Aboundingly earthy, rhythmic, and
embellished by deeply moving nostalgia, [standing] at the crossroads of
every musical emotion." Born in Havana, Cuba, León came to the United
States in 1967. At the invitation of Arthur Mitchell, she became a
founding member and the first musical director of the Dance Theater of
Harlem in 1969, establishing the Dance Theater’s music department,
music school, and orchestra. She instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Community Concert Series in 1978. From 1993 to 1997 she was the New
Music Advisor to Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic and she
served as Latin American Music Advisor to the American Composers
Orchestra until 2001. León has received awards from the American
Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Endowment for the Arts,
Chamber Music America, the Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest Fund, NYSCA,
ASCAP, and Meet the Composer, among others. In 1998 she held the Fromm
Residency at the American Academy in Rome; she has also been a resident
at Yaddo (supported by a MacArthur Foundation Award), and at the
Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy. León was the
recipient in 2000 of the Tow Award at Brooklyn College, where she is
professor of Music. She received an Honorary Doctorate degree from
Colgate University in 1999. She has held master classes at the Hamburg
Musikschule in Germany, and has been Visiting Lecturer at Harvard
University and Visiting Professor of Composition at Yale University. As
the Boston Phoenix called it, León’s music is "…art of the highest
order. [It] doesn’t appropriate folk roots so much as radically inspire
us to refigure what those roots are."- Other Minds
COMPOSITIONS León Links ~ ~ ~ Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ León on León
Tones, ballet (1970) [commissioned by the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
The Beloved, ballet (1972) [with Judith Hamilton; for the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Haiku, ballet (1973) [commissioned by the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Dougla, ballet (1974) [with Geoffrey Holder; for the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Namiac Poems, voices and mixed ensemble (1975)
Spiritual Suite, narrator, 2 sopranos, chorus and amplified ensemble (1976)
Concerto Criollo, solo timpani, solo piano and chamber orchestra (1980)
Pet's Suite, flute and piano (1980)
Maggie Magalita, incidental music (1980) [for play by Wendy Kesselman]
Belé, ballet (1981) [with Geoffrey Holder; for the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Permutation Seven, flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello and percussion (1981)
De-Orishas, 2 sopranos, countertenor, 2 tenors and bass (1982) [text: Betty Neals]
The Golden Windows, [incidental music] (1982) [for a 3-part play by Robert Wilson]
Ascend, brass and percussion [4 hn, 4 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, 3 perc] (1983)
Four Pieces for Cello Solo (1983)
Momentum, piano (1984)
¡Paisanos Semos! (1984)
Batá, orchestra (1985, rev. 1988)
A La Par, piano and percussion (1986)
Elegia a Paul Robeson, violin, cello and piano (1987)
Rituál, piano (1987)
Pueblo Mulato (3 songs), soprano, oboe, guitar, double bass, percussion and piano (1987) [text: Nicolás Guillén]
Kabiosile, piano and orchestra (1988)
Heart of Ours - A Piece, tenor solo, male chorus, flute, 4 tpt and 2 perc (1988) [texts: R. Sandecki; American Indians]
Parajota Delaté, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1988) [also arr. 1990 for fl, ob, cl, bn, pf]
Batéy, 2 sopranos, countertenor, 2 tenors and bass (1989) [text: T. León, M. Camilo] [written in collab. w/Michel Camilo]
Journey, high voice, flute and harp (1990)
To and Fro (4 songs), medium voice and piano (1990) [text: Alison Knowles]
Carabalí, orchestra (1991)
Indígena, large ensemble [fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, tpt, pf, perc, 2 vln, va, vc, cb] (1991)
Ajiaco, electric guitar and piano (1992)
Arenas d'un Tiempo, clarinet cello and piano (1992)
Crossings, brass [hn, 4 tpt, 4 tbn, tuba] (1992)
Son Sonora, flute and guitar (1993)
Scourge of Hyacinths, chamber opera (1994; rev. as full opera, 1999] [libretto: León, based on a play by Wole Soyinka]
Para Viola y Orquesta (1994)
sin normas ajenas, flute/picc, oboe, clarinet, string quartet, piano and 2 perc (1994)
"Or like a...", baritone, cello and percussion (1994) [text: John Ashbery]
Hechizos, large ensemble (1995)
Tau, electric oboe, electric bass and electronic keyboards (1995)
Seven Spirituals (arr. Ryan, orch. León), baritone and orchestra (1995)
Singin' Sepia (5 songs), soprano, clarinet, violin and piano 4-hands (1996) [text: Rita Dove]
De Color, violin and marimba (1996-97)
Drummin, indigenous percussionists and orchestra (1997) [a full-length cross-cultural work]
Sol de Doce, 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (1997) [text: Pedro Mir]
Saóko, brass quintet (1997)
Entre nos, clarinet, bassoon and piano (1998)
Bailarín, guitar (1998)
Horizons, orchestra (1999)
May the Road Be Free, children's chorus and percussion (1999) [text: John Marsden]
Alegre, wind ensemble (2000)
Caracol, violin, viola, cello, piano and percussion (2000)
De Memorias, woodwind quintet (2000)
Fanfarria, brass [4 tpt, 2 tbn, bass tbn] and 1 percussionist (2000)
Satiné, 2 pianos (2000)
At the Fountain of Mpindelela, [?????] (2000)
Ivo, Ivo, soprano, clarinet, bass clarinet, viola, cello and double bass (2000) [text: Manuel Martin]
Turning, song cycle, soprano, cello and piano (2000)
Desde..., orchestra (2001)
Rezos, chorus (2001) [text: Jamaica Kincaid]
Canto, song cycle, baritone, clarinet/bass cl, marimba, cello and piano (2001)
A Row of Buttons, 2-part female chorus (2002) [text: Fae Myenne Ng]
Two Cuban Songs, 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (pub. 2002)
- Drume Negrita (Grenet, arr. León), 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (pub. 2002) [from "Two Cuban Songs"]
- El Manisero (Simons, arr. León), 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (pub. 2002) [from "Two Cuban Songs"]
Axon, violin and interactive computer (2002)
Love After Love, soprano and marimba (2002) [text: Derek Walcott]
Duende (Spirit), baritone, 3 bata drums, 4 percussionists and 1 Latin percussionist (2003)
Mistica, piano (2003)
Hebras d' Luz, electric viola (2004)
La Tina, piano (2004)
Variación, piano (2004)
Samarkand, theater work, speaker, chorus, children's chorus, alto fl/sax, 2 perc, 3 bata drms, pf, 2 vc (2005)[text: Wole Soyinka]
Tumbao, piano (2005)
Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel (arr. León), baritone and orchestra (2005)
Metisse, chorus and percussion (2006)
Toque, clarinet, alto sax, violin, double bass, piano and 2 perc (2006)
Para Noah, piano (2006)
Reflections, song cycle, soprano, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, string quintet, piano and 2 perc (2006) [text: Rita Dove]
Raices (Tabla Raza), flute, violin, voice, piano, double bass, tabla solo and 2 perc (2007)
Abanico, violin and interactive computer (2007)
Alma, flute and piano (2007)
Atwood Songs, soprano and piano (2007) [text: Margaret Atwood]
Ácana, orchestra (2008)
Estampas, chorus (2008) [texts: Maya Islas, Iraida Iturralde and Alina Galiano]
Tiempo en Clave, violin and percussion (2008)
Ancients, 2 sopranos, flute, clarinet, viola, cello and percussion (2008)
Inura, ballet (2009) [commissioned by Brandon Fradd for Dance Brazil]
Esencia para cuarteto de cuerdas, string quartet (2009)
Cumba Cumbakin, large ensemble/wind ensemble (2010)
Rimas Tropicales, girl's chorus (2011) [text: Carlos Pintado]
Cuarteto No. 2, string quartet (2011)
WORKS BY GENRE León Links ~ ~ ~ León on León ~ top of page ~
Dramatic/Theater
Tones, ballet (1970) [commissioned by the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
The Beloved, ballet (1972) [with Judith Hamilton; for the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Haiku, ballet (1973) [commissioned by the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Dougla, ballet (1974) [with Geoffrey Holder; for the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Belé, ballet (1981) [with Geoffrey Holder; for the Dance Theatre of Harlem]
Scourge of Hyacinths, chamber opera (1994; rev. as full opera, 1999] [libretto: León, based on a play by Wole Soyinka]
Duende (Spirit), baritone, 3 bata drums, 4 percussionists and 1 Latin percussionist (2003)
Samarkand, theater work, speaker, chorus, children's chorus, alto fl/sax, 2 perc, 3 bata drms, pf, 2 vc (2005)[text: Wole Soyinka]
Inura, ballet (2009) [commissioned by Brandon Fradd for Dance Brazil]
Orchestra
Batá, orchestra (1985, rev. 1988)
Carabalí, orchestra (1991)
Horizons, orchestra (1999)
Desde..., orchestra (2001)
Ácana, orchestra (2008)
Band
Alegre, wind ensemble (2000)
Cumba Cumbakin, large ensemble/wind ensemble (2010)
Soloist(s) w/Orchestra
Concerto Criollo, solo timpani, solo piano and chamber orchestra (1980)
Kabiosile, piano and orchestra (1988)
Para Viola y Orquesta (1994)
Drummin, indigenous percussionists and orchestra (1997) [a full-length cross-cultural work]
Choral
Namiac Poems, voices and mixed ensemble (1975)
Spiritual Suite, narrator, 2 sopranos, chorus and amplified ensemble (1976)
De-Orishas, 2 sopranos, countertenor, 2 tenors and bass (1982) [text: Betty Neals]
Heart of Ours - A Piece, tenor solo, male chorus, flute, 4 tpt and 2 perc (1988) [texts: R. Sandecki; American Indians]
Batéy, 2 sopranos, countertenor, 2 tenors and bass (1989) [text: T. León, M. Camilo] [written in collab. w/Michel Camilo]
Sol de Doce, 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (1997) [text: Pedro Mir]
May the Road Be Free, children's chorus and percussion (1999) [text: John Marsden]
Rezos, chorus (2001) [text: Jamaica Kincaid]
A Row of Buttons, 2-part female chorus (2002) [text: Fae Myenne Ng]
Two Cuban Songs, 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (pub. 2002)
- Drume Negrita (Grenet, arr. León), 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (pub. 2002) [from "Two Cuban Songs"]
- El Manisero (Simons, arr. León), 12 solo voices [SSSAAATTTBBB] (pub. 2002) [from "Two Cuban Songs"]
Metisse, chorus and percussion (2006)
Estampas, chorus (2008) [texts: Maya Islas, Iraida Iturralde and Alina Galiano]
Rimas Tropicales, girl's chorus (2011) [text: Carlos Pintado]
Chamber
Pet's Suite, flute and piano (1980)
Permutation Seven, flute, clarinet, trumpet, violin, cello and percussion (1981)
Ascend, brass and percussion [4 hn, 4 tpt, 3 tbn, tba, 3 perc] (1983)
A La Par, piano and percussion (1986)
Elegia a Paul Robeson, violin, cello and piano (1987)
Parajota Delaté, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano (1988) [also arr. 1990 for fl, ob, cl, bn, pf]
Indígena, large ensemble [fl, ob, cl, bn, hn, tpt, pf, perc, 2 vln, va, vc, cb] (1991)
Ajiaco, electric guitar and piano (1992)
Arenas d'un Tiempo, clarinet cello and piano (1992)
Crossings, brass [hn, 4 tpt, 4 tbn, tuba] (1992)
Son Sonora, flute and guitar (1993)
sin normas ajenas, flute/picc, oboe, clarinet, string quartet, piano and 2 perc (1994)
Hechizos, large ensemble (1995)
Tau, electric oboe, electric bass and electronic keyboards (1995)
De Color, violin and marimba (1996-97)
Saóko, brass quintet (1997)
Entre nos, clarinet, bassoon and piano (1998)
Caracol, violin, viola, cello, piano and percussion (2000)
De Memorias, woodwind quintet (2000)
Fanfarria, brass [4 tpt, 2 tbn, bass tbn] and 1 percussionist (2000)
Toque, clarinet, alto sax, violin, double bass, piano and 2 perc (2006)
Raices (Tabla Raza), flute, violin, voice, piano, double bass, tabla solo and 2 perc (2007)
Tiempo en Clave, violin and percussion (2008)
Esencia para cuarteto de cuerdas, string quartet (2009)
Cumba Cumbakin, large ensemble/wind ensemble (2010)
Cuarteto No. 2, string quartet (2011)
Solo Instrument
Four Pieces for Cello Solo (1983)
Bailarín, guitar (1998)
Axon, violin and interactive computer (2002)
Hebras d' Luz, electric viola (2004)
Abanico, violin and interactive computer (2007)
Alma, flute and piano (2007)
Piano
Momentum, piano (1984)
¡Paisanos Semos! (1984)
Rituál, piano (1987)
Satiné, 2 pianos (2000)
Mistica, piano (2003)
La Tina, piano (2004)
Variación, piano (2004)
Tumbao, piano (2005)
Para Noah, piano (2006)
Vocal
Pueblo Mulato (3 songs), soprano, oboe, guitar, double bass, percussion and piano (1987) [text: Nicolás Guillén]
Journey, high voice, flute and harp (1990)
To and Fro (4 songs), medium voice and piano (1990) [text: Alison Knowles]
"Or like a...", baritone, cello and percussion (1994) [text: John Ashbery]
Seven Spirituals (arr. Ryan, orch. León), baritone and orchestra (1995)
Singin' Sepia (5 songs), soprano, clarinet, violin and piano 4-hands (1996) [text: Rita Dove]
At the Fountain of Mpindelela, [?????] (2000)
Ivo, Ivo, soprano, clarinet, bass clarinet, viola, cello and double bass (2000) [text: Manuel Martin]
Turning, song cycle, soprano, cello and piano (2000)
Canto, song cycle, baritone, clarinet/bass cl, marimba, cello and piano (2001)
Love After Love, soprano and marimba (2002) [text: Derek Walcott]
Duende (Spirit), baritone, 3 bata drums, 4 percussionists and 1 Latin percussionist (2003)
Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel (arr. León), baritone and orchestra (2005)
Reflections, song cycle, soprano, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, string quintet, piano and 2 perc (2006) [text: Rita Dove]
Atwood Songs, soprano and piano (2007) [text: Margaret Atwood]
Ancients, 2 sopranos, flute, clarinet, viola, cello and percussion (2008)
Incidental/Film
Maggie Magalita, incidental music (1980) [for play by Wendy Kesselman]
The Golden Windows, [incidental music] (1982) [for a 3-part play by Robert Wilson]
Electronic
Axon, violin and interactive computer (2002)
Abanico, violin and interactive computer (2007)
LEÓN LINKS Works by Genre ~ ~ ~ León on León ~ top of page ~
Balancing the Past with the Present: An Interview with Tania León (William Gooch, Stage and Cinema)
Composer Tania León's Music to be Played in Her Native Cuba for the First Time (CubaHeadlines)
An Introduction to the Music of Tania León (James Spinazzola, Louisiana State University)
A Master of Synthesis: An Interview with Tania León (David DeBoor Canfield, Fanfare Magazine) also here
Las Obras de Tania León, Interpretadas por Primera Vez en la Isla (Diario de Cuba) [in Spanish]
Tania León: Embajadora Cultural en Madrid (OpusMusica) [in Spanish]
Tania León: Indigena (Myrna Nachman, IAWM Journal)
Tania León: What it Means to be an American Composer (Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox)
What Are Your Top Five “Outside the Industry” Music Favorites? (Tania León, NewMusicBox)
Composer's website . . . contact Tania León: here
León @ Wikipedia
León @ AfriClassical.com
León @ American Academy of Arts and Letters
León @ American Composers Forum
León @ American Music Center
León @ Answers.com
León @ ASCAP
León @ BlackGrooves
León @ Brooklyn College
León @ Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music also here
León @ Carnegie Hall
León @ Classical Archives
León @ Conciertos Daniel
León @ CUNY Graduate Center
León @ DePauw University/Music of the 21st Century
León @ Diario de Cuba (via Google Advanced Search)
León @ Facebook
León @ Gale/Cengage Learning
León @ Hildegard Publishing Company
León @ IMDb (Internet Movie Database)
León @ InstantEncore
León @ Ithaca College
León @ Lawndale News
León @ Leonarda Records
León @ LinkedIn
León @ Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
León @ Modern Classical
León @ ModernWorks
León @ MusicWeb International
León @ National Women's History Project
León @ Naxos
León @ New Music Miami
León @ New World Records also here
León @ New York Composers Circle
León @ The New York Times
León @ Other Minds
León @ Peermusic
León @ The Pew Center for the Arts & Heritage
León @ Quintet of the Americas
León @ Joanne Rile Artists Management
León @ 651 Arts
León @ Smithsonian Latino Center also here
León @ Symphony Space
León @ 3Arts
León @ Washington State University/Festival of Contemporary Art Music
León @ Wind Repertory Project
León @ Women of Influence in Contemporary Music (Michael Slayton, Scarecrow Pr, books.google.com)
León @ Women in Music Festival/Eastman School of Music
Publisher
León @ Hildegard Publishing Company
León @ Peermusic
León @ Theodore Presser
León @ Southern Music Pub. Co.
Streaming Audio
León @ BombBlog/A Conversation w/Composers Tania León and Philip Glass
León @ Classical Archives
León @ Internet Archive
León @ last.fm
León @ Other Minds
León @ radiOM
León @ Rhapsody.com
León @ Symphony Space
León @ WNYC/New Sounds
Recordings
León @ Composer's website
León @ Amazon.com
León @ ArkivMusic
León @ CD Universe
León @ ClassicsOnline
León @ Discogs
León @ itunes
León @ New World Records
Video
León @ YouTube
León @ FORA.tv
León @ Google Video
~ top of page ~
León on León: Composer Portrait (VIDEO)
León on León: My Creative Process (VIDEO)
. . . see other parts of this same series "Career Girls: Composer/Conductor" here
León on León: Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute Interview (VIDEO)
León on León: Interview at Symphony Space w/Paul Moravec (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
León on León: Speaking of Music: Tania León, 1985/radiOM (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
León on León: A Conversation w/Composers Tania León and Philip Glass (streaming audio)
Composers
Speak on the Web at Pytheas~ click on composer picture to listen ~
A Master of Synthesis: An Interview with Tania León
David DeBoor Canfield, Fanfare Magazine (February 4, 2012)
Tania León was born in Cuba, her ancestry spanning four continents. Coming to the U.S. in 1967 and engaging in graduate studies, she ended up settling in New York. Her many honors and performances include being the subject of profiles on most North American television networks, as well as independent films. León’s opera, The Scourge of Hyacinths, based on a play by Wole Soyinka with staging and design by Robert Wilson, received more than 20 performances throughout Europe and Mexico. Commissioned by Hans Werner Henze for the 1994 Munich Biennale, it took home the coveted BMW Prize. The aria “Oh Yemanja” (Mother’s Prayer) was recorded by Dawn Upshaw on her Nonesuch CD The World So Wide.
León has received the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as prestigious awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Koussevitzky Award, and numerous others. A professor at Brooklyn College since 1985, she was named Distinguished Professor of the City University of New York in 2006. In 2010 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She was involved in the premiere of a new work when I caught up with her by phone in early December 2011, but managed to find a few moments to answer my questions.
Q: What was the musical scene like in Cuba when you were growing up and studying music there? Did Cuba have anything comparable to El Sistema in Venezuela?
A: As to your question about anything corresponding to El Sistema in Cuba, well you would be surprised at how many variations of that famous music education program exist throughout Latin America! From what I know about Cuba, the importance given to music education is quite apparent by the number of orchestras that are in each one of the provinces. These orchestras are composed of the professors at the conservatory plus their students, and they often play music by the local composers. It’s all integrated, and the musical culture in Cuba is deep and diverse. Cuban musicians are all trained in the conservatory; they are trained in European music, and in sight-singing, solfège, conducting, and such things.
I was raised in a culture of inclusivity, with many influences from the relatives who converged in my household. I actually began studying music when I was four years old—I could read notes before I could read words. My first recital was when I was five. Such an early training is a real part of the Cuban culture, but in my case, my grandmother recognized my interest in music, and helped find teachers for me at the conservatory. On the weekends, I would hang around with other students, play salsa music, improvise, and play just about any instrument. However, when we went into the conservatory we were playing our Chopin! I also liked to dance when I was young, and would dance to just about any music that I heard being played. That was just a natural part of my development.
Q: That might explain the dance-like quality I hear in some of your music. How integral to your music do you consider the element of dance to be? Does your phrase “movement is music” relate to this?
A: Well, that phrase can mean many, many things. For example, when I hear a chord, it infiltrates my mind, and whatever the contour of pitches of the chord is, I see it almost as a movie in my head. Some people hear music associated with colors, but for me, it’s almost more like an EKG, where the sounds make patterns in my brain—it’s association by images. Hearing and seeing music this way is probably why, as a young musician, I could hear any piece of music on the radio and go to the piano and play it.
Q: Which Cuban musicians and composers were particularly influential upon your musical development? And were there non-Cuban musicians that you particularly admired?
A: My degrees in piano, theory and solfège —these were all strictly European-based. At that time, I thought I was going to be a concert pianist—I was winning competitions, performing concertos by Schumann, Mozart, and so on. Of course, during my piano studies, I was also playing piano pieces by Lecuona and other Cuban and Latin American composers, such as Villa-Lobos.
Q: So when did you begin to realize that you wanted to compose music, too?
A: In retrospect, I began to realize that I had tendencies toward composition when I used to play in a combo that my brother had. As a member of this group, I would put together songs, also write the lyrics, and I would sing them with my brother. This was some of our weekend entertainment. But this kind of writing didn’t really make me think that I was—or would become—a composer. My piano teacher, upon my leaving Cuba, said that music would lose a pianist, but gain a composer, basing the comment on my habit of learning a piece, but then recomposing my own version of it.
Another push for my career in composition came when I was studying at New York University. While subbing for an ill friend of mine for a dance class for which she played up in Harlem, I happened to meet Arthur Mitchell, founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. He needed a pianist to collaborate with the group of dancers he was forming, and when I sat down to play for him, he exclaimed, “Just improvise, and follow the choreography of my steps.”
Q: What brought you to the United States in the first place?
A: I’d had a longstanding dream to study at the Paris Conservatory, where I would have met and potentially studied with Nadia Boulanger, but my family didn’t have the resources. With the help of a family of a classmate of mine who had emigrated to the States, I came to New York after being in Miami for only three days following my arrival from La Habana.
Q: Is your music played today in Cuba, or do the powers that be resent your having left for the United States?
A: Actually, last year was the first time that I traveled to Cuba to hear a concert of my works performed. At the invitation of composer-conductor Leo Brouwer, I was invited to be a featured composer of the festival that bears his name. Do you know who he is?
Q: Certainly! In fact, I reviewed a CD of his string quartets recently for Fanfare.
A: In October of 2010, he presented a program of music of Cuban women composers living outside the country. This marked the first performances of my music in my native country in 43 years, other than a piano piece that was premiered in 2003 by Ursula Oppens on a solo recital. It was a tremendous experience to hear my music performed by Cuban musicians, including young performers, and even have the opportunity to coach them.
Dennis Russell Davies and I co-founded the American Composers Orchestra’s Sonidos de las Americas, a festival devoted to building musical bridges between the U.S. and Latin America. Based at Carnegie Hall and venues throughout New York, there were six festivals: Mexico, Venezuela (I actually met José Abreu, the founder of El Sistema, at that time), Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, and finally Cuba.
Q: In the notes of the Bridge CD, you refer to the fact that Cuban music draws influences from many parts of the world, including Africa, Europe, Asia, and indigenous American peoples. How do you see your music as a “mixing, absorption, and intersection,” as the liner notes mention?
A: I typically immerse myself in the culture of the piece I’m working on. For example, in preparing to compose Haiku, I read as many Haiku as possible, trying to understand both the form and the culture that had produced it. I followed the same approach for Inura. While on a research trip to Brazil, I heard some incredible musicians! I knew that I wanted to work with an ensemble of spectacular drummers and feature their ensemble. We sent recordings of their parts to Brazil, which they memorized. When they arrived here, they were joined by Erik Charlston, a percussionist who plays with the New York Philharmonic. Eric has had a lot of experience in playing music of various cultures, so he was very helpful in the rehearsal process.
Q: The result on the CD is stunning! How do you help your composition students find their own compositional voices?
A: Those who come to me to study composition, I feel, have a tremendous passion for sound. So my job essentially is to bring out of my students their creative voices, so that they can put together who they are, musically speaking. These young composers are very passionate about sound and want to say something utilizing sound, so my role is to help them discover and develop their craft as composers.
Q: Well, you have done some amazing things, both in and outside of your composition!
A: Thank you! I feel privileged to have been given the opportunities to grow as a musician and cultivate my compositional voice. I could never have imagined that the path of my childhood dream—traveling to Paris to study for a career as a concert pianist—would change course to place my destination in New York, ultimately as a composer and conductor.
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