Tania León

“Beyond It” - song written for Soledad O’Brien

-- read poem (by Jacqueline Suskin)

-- read lyrics

Tania León is a highly regarded composer, conductor, educator and advisor to arts organizations. Recent commissions feature Little Rock Nine, an opera with libretto by Thulani Davis and historical research by Henry Louis Gates Jr, and works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and ICE. Appearances as guest conductor include the Symphony Orchestra of Marseille, the Gewandhausorchester Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Guanajuato, and Orquesta Sinfonica de Cuba.

A founding member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, she instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert Series, co-founded the American Composers Orchestra “Sonidos de las Americas Festivals,” was New Music Advisor to the New York Philharmonic, and is the founder/Artistic Director of Composers Now.

Her honors include the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement and the ASCAP Victor Herbert Awards, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2017, she received a proclamation for Composers Now by New York City Mayor, and the MadWoman Festival Award in Music (Spain).

León has received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from Colgate University, Oberlin and SUNY Purchase Colleges. She served as US Artistic Ambassador of American Culture in Madrid, Spain. A Professor at Brooklyn College since 1985, she was named Distinguished Professor of the City University of New York in 2006. Most recently she was awarded a 2018 United States Artists Fellowship.