Tania León

Tania León (conductor) was born in Havana, Cuba, and is highly regarded as a composer, conductor, educator, and advisor to arts organizations. Her orchestral work Stride, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music.

Recent commissions include works for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, NDR Symphony Orchestra, Grossman Ensemble, International Contemporary Ensemble, and pianist Ursula Oppens with the Cassatt String Quartet. Appear­ances as guest conductor include concerts with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Marseille, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Guanajuato, and Orquesta Sin­fónica de Cuba.

Upcoming premieres feature commissions for the NewMusic USA Amplifying Voices Pro­gram, the Musical Fund Society in Philadelphia (to celebrate their 200th anniversary), and The Crossing chamber choir with flutist Claire Chase, among others. A founding member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, León instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Con­cert Series, co-founded the American Com­posers Orchestra’s Sonidos de las Américas Festivals, was New Music Advisor to the New York Philharmonic, and is the founder/artistic director of Composers Now, a presenting, commissioning, and advocacy organization for living composers.

León has received honorary doctorates from Colgate University, Oberlin, and SUNY Pur­chase College, and served as US Artistic Ambassador of American Culture in Madrid, Spain. A CUNY professor emer­ita, she received a 2018 United States Artists Fellowship.