Tania León is one of the four winning composers who was chosen to write a world premiere for the Musical Fund Society’s Bicentennial Celebration this spring. We were able to catch up with León to discuss her accomplishments and her remarkable career.

León has been a prominent personality in the music world. As an esteemed conductor and composer, as well as educator and advisor of arts organizations, she has achieved greatness throughout her career. With awards such as the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NYSCA, the Lila Wallace/Reader's Digest Fund, ASCAP and Meet the Composer as well as collaborations with some of the most prestigious composers and artists of our time, it’s hard to think of anything she hasn’t accomplished in her career thus far. 

Tania León’s Accomplishments and Early Beginnings 

However, when talking about her most cherished accomplishments, León said that there wasn’t just one moment she’s most proud of in her career. “Every opportunity to create — as well as perform — has its own element of wonder for me,” she said.

She believes to be the “sum total” of her experiences in “sound, growth and evolution.” From traveling across the world, to being one of the first artists featured by Harlem Stage in Aaron Davis Hall's new program, WaterWorks, León’s music career has greatly influenced our world of music.

Starting out as a passionate concert pianist, Tania León was most surprised to ultimately become a composer, conductor and educator instead. Despite the surprising twists and turns her life and career have taken her, Ms. León says that she has not entertained changing anything about it thus far. Experiencing a life full of surprising events left and right has prepared Ms. León for the unknown, and ten years from now, she finds it hard to tell where she’d like to be.

Tania León’s World Premiere for the Musical Fund Society’s Bicentennial Celebration

Tania León’s commissioned piece for the Musical Fund Society is called Wheat in the Fields, un ciclo de canciones (a song cycle). It is to be performed with the Curtis 20/21 Ensemble and mezzo-soprano Sarah Fleiss. 

In addition to her work for the Bicentennial Concert, León is also working on rehearsals for the upcoming premiere of a new work for the New York Philharmonic next month, preparing for the opening of the 2020 Composers Now Festival in New York (for which she is founder and artistic director of), and to conduct the Dance Theatre of Harlem New York season in April 2020.

With a continuously busy schedule and fulfilling musical career, it’s still rather difficult for León to determine what she would like people to remember about her artistry. 

“People will remember whatever they would like to remember,” she said. “We can’t predict the way we touch each others’ hearts.”

EXPLORE COMPOSER PROFILES

Celebrating the Musical Fund Society’s Bicentennial