"The music of North America would be vastly different if not for the richness brought from other cultures. That's one reason why the career of Tania León is so remarkable. If she had not bravely come to the US on a 1967 "Freedom Flight" from Cuba, she would not have gifted New York City and the country with her talents and influence, inspiring generations of artists."
Read More"Composer Tania León and historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. spoke last night to an enthusiastic and plentiful crowd at University of Central Arkansas's Reynolds Performance Hall last night, preceding the performance of four excerpts from León's in-progress opera "Little Rock Nine," with a libretto by scholar and playwright Thulani Davis. Vocalists Kendra Thomas, Ronald Jensen-McDaniel, Candice Harris and Nisheedah Dévré Golden, equipped with coaching from León before the event, performed arias from Act I of the in-progress opera, with Paul Dickinson at the piano.”
Read MoreAlong with León, highlighted were the careers of such prominent composers as Olga Neuwirth, Unsuk Chin, Meredith Monk, and Jennifer Higdon. The section on León includes an audio clip of "Oh Yemanja" from her opera Scourge of Hyacinths.
Read More"For the first time since she left for the United States nearly 50 years ago, the composer and conductor...will perform in her native Cuba later this month, conducting the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba in a program featuring one of her own works."
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