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At Brooklyn College: Presidential Lecture Series reunites great musical educators, establishes Tania León Chair of Music

Returning with honors, Pulitzer Prize-winner and Kennedy Center honoree Tania León renews her commitment to Brooklyn College in new role

April 5, 2024 Special from Brooklyn College

(From left) From left) Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather; Pulitzer Prize-winner and Kennedy Center honoree, conductor, and educator Tania León; and Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson at the Presidential Lecture Series event. Photos: Ashley Spofford

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FLATBUSH — Pulitzer Prize-winner and Kennedy Center honoree Tania León returned to Brooklyn College recently as part of President Michelle J. Anderson’s Presidential Lecture Series. The event also served as a platform to announce that Brooklyn College and its School of Visual, Media, and Performing Arts have launched the Tania León Chair of Music, the first endowed chair in music at the college. This pathbreaking chair was funded by The Tow Foundation and named in honor of León, who started teaching at the college in 1985, became a Tow Distinguished Professor in 2000, and retired as professor emeritus in 2019. Leonard Tow, who graduated from Brooklyn College in 1950, was also in the audience to support his longtime friend and mentee.

(From left) Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather; Pulitzer Prize-winner and Kennedy Center honoree, conductor, and educator Tania León; Leonard Tow of The Tow Foundation; and Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson at the Presidential Lecture Series event on March 28 at the college.

The President’s discussion with León, titled “You Gave Me Wings: A Rhythmic Life,” featured a conversation with President Anderson chronicling León’s extraordinary life from her migration from Cuba to her career as a world-renowned composer.

(From left) Kennedy Center honoree, conductor, and educator Tania León discussed her remarkable life at the Presidential Lecture Series event March 28 at Brooklyn College.

For León, it has been a life of surprises.

She talked about how her grandmother, a “force,” 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 — a career that took her to stages all over the world.

That spirit of mentoring and giving back — parental or otherwise — was a common theme President Anderson touched on throughout the evening with León.

The pair also discussed León’s orchestral work “Stride,” 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.

(From left) Kennedy Center honoree, conductor, and educator Tania León, speaks with Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson at the Presidential Lecture Series event March 28.

The inaugural incumbent chair was in attendance: acclaimed conductor and Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather, who has taught at Brooklyn College 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’s diverse and talented students.

(From Left) Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather, Pulitzer Prize-winner and Kennedy Center honoree, conductor and educator Tania León.

“Hosting Tania León for this series was an honor,” said President Anderson. “Tania personifies the heart of Brooklyn College. 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.”

For León, the new endowed chair was just another pleasant surprise.

“It is a great honor to have the first-ever chair in music at Brooklyn College endowed in my name,” said León. “This 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.”

Merriweather said he was honored beyond words to be named as the inaugural Tania León Chair of Music.

“Tania 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,” Merriweather said. “I 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.”

The evening fittingly included a performance by Merriweather.

(From left) Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather performs at the Presidential Lecture Series event.

Tania León observes Associate Professor Malcolm J. Merriweather’s performance at the Presidential Lecture Series event.

Presented by the Brooklyn College Foundation, the Presidential Lecture Series seeks to expose Brooklyn College students and the broader community to inspiring ideas, courageous leadership, and models of civic engagement and civil discourse.