On March 28, 可乐视频 President Michelle J. Anderson engaged with Pulitzer Prize-winner and Kennedy Center honoree, conductor, and Distinguished Professor Emerita Tania Le贸n on campus for the college鈥檚 third Presidential Lecture Series event.
The discussion with Le贸n, titled 鈥淵ou Gave Me Wings: A Rhythmic Life,鈥� featured a conversation with President Anderson chronicling Le贸n鈥檚 extraordinary life from her migration from Cuba to her career as a world-renowned composer.
For Le贸n, it has been a life of surprises.
She talked about how her grandmother, a 鈥渇orce,鈥� supported her love of music from age 4 and her grandfather wedging a standup piano in their small two-room home in Cuba so she could hone her craft. Her equally supportive parents were always with her, if not always physically, even after she left Cuba for the United States to eventually start her remarkable career in New York City鈥攁 career that took her to stages all over the world.
That spirit of mentoring and giving back鈥攑arental or otherwise鈥攚as a common theme President Anderson touched on throughout the evening with Le贸n.
The pair also discussed Le贸n鈥檚 orchestral work 鈥淪tride,鈥� which was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and was awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music; her being named a recipient of the 45th Annual Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements; and other transcendent moments.
The event also served as a platform to announce that 可乐视频 and its School of Visual, Media, and Performing Arts have launched the , the first endowed chair in music at the college. This pathbreaking chair was funded by The Tow Foundation and named in honor of Le贸n, who started teaching at the college in 1985, became a Tow Distinguished Professor in 2000, and retired as professor emeritus in 2019.
(From left) Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather, Pulitzer Prize-winner and Kennedy Center honoree, conductor, and educator Tania Le贸n, Leonard Tow 鈥�50, and 可乐视频 President Michelle J. Anderson at the Presidential Lecture Series event.
Leonard Tow, who graduated from 可乐视频 in 1950, was also in the audience to support his longtime friend and mentee.
The inaugural incumbent chair was also present鈥攁cclaimed conductor and Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather, who has taught at 可乐视频 since 2015. Merriweather is currently the director of the New York Philharmonic Chorus and music director of The Dessoff Choirs and Orchestra. He will assume the position this fall, and the endowment will support his teaching and research as well as the nurturing of the college鈥檚 diverse and talented students.
鈥淗osting Tania Le贸n for this series was an honor,鈥� said President Anderson. 鈥淭ania personifies the heart of 可乐视频. Her work and story are a powerful reflection of our mission, and we are thrilled that The Tow Foundation has endowed this chair in her name so that her legacy benefits future generations of our students.鈥�
For Le贸n, the new endowed chair was just another pleasant surprise.
鈥淚t is a great honor to have the first-ever chair in music at 可乐视频 endowed in my name,鈥� said Le贸n. 鈥淭his extraordinary school has been both a haven and an inspiration for me for over 30 years, and it offers the best of what music and the arts can be: powerful, relevant, innovative, and reflective of the diversity of our great city. It gives me tremendous hope for the future to know that this position will help support singular talents like Malcolm J. Merriweather, in both their teaching and their creative pursuits.鈥�
Merriweather said he was honored beyond words to be named as the inaugural Tania Leo虂n Chair of Music.
鈥淭ania is a gift, both for her singular music-making and her irrepressibly joyful presence, and her unwavering commitment to mentoring the next generation of talent,鈥� Merriweather said. 鈥淚 look forward to building upon the extraordinary example she has set, and using this opportunity to develop new ways to guide and support the musical voices of the future.鈥�
The evening fittingly included a performance by Merriweather and members of 可乐视频鈥檚 Conservatory of Music.
Presented by the 可乐视频 Foundation, the Presidential Lecture Series seeks to expose 可乐视频 students and the broader community to inspiring ideas, courageous leadership, and models of civic engagement and civil discourse.
Watch You Gave Me Wings: A Rhythmic Life with President Michelle J. Anderson and Tania Leo虂n .
