Carmen-Helena Téllez

A conversation about the pandemic and innovations in choral music

May 22, 2020 by carmen helena tellez

II just enjoyed the privilege of a very rich conversation with Dominick DiOrio, the new president of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and Associate Professor of Music at the Jacobs School in Bloomington, moderated by Alain Barker for his series of webinars on future directions in the musical field, which he leads from his Office of Entrepreneurship and Career Development, also at the Jacobs School. The topic was “crossdisciplnay modes in choral music”, a point of entry to discuss […]

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Happy Holidays and a great 2020 to all!

December 24, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

Categories: art, art and religion • Tags: Christmas card

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I found this fascinating read…as I get ready to create a new interdisciplinary work

October 19, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

This comes from AEON magazine, where one find many provocative new insights on how we and the world work, and could work… In fact, musical modernism exacerbated the idea that musical artists had to specialize–you were a composer, or a performer, or a historian, but rarely expected to be recognized professionally for credible expertise in all these –or other– disciplines. This is gradually changing. The most forward looking music departments and schools are considering interdisciplinarity, which does not eliminate the […]

Categories: art and paradox, art and society, Carmen's work, interdiscipline, postclassical music, Uncategorized • Tags: The Nine Muses by Carlos Dorrien

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The trials and tribulations of art music for all

September 4, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

I include here two very interesting articles that have gone viral among classical musicians. They address the circumstances of classical musicians who are not born in environments where classical music is part of the family culture or profession, but still invest intense creative effort and monetary resources to achieve exalted proficiency in an art they love above all. They are not always rewarded for their devotion. It is a complex issue that does not deserve pandering answers of any kind, […]

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Women and the arts- when will we tell the whole story?

August 19, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

In spite of the ongoing and ever-so-gradually disappearing patriarchy, there have been some tentative developments in the recognition of women in the arts. We see more women conductors taking the helm of orchestras. The Art Institute of Chicago is hanging more art by women, next to their male contemporaries. And here, Artsy magazine gives us a summarized history of the influence of women in the arts as patronesses. Shall we look at the history of art, music included, as the […]

Categories: art, art and society, women in music, women in the arts

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An artist who knew himself

June 11, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

I have been pretty much in shock after hearing of the departure of my colleague and teacher Sven-David Sandstrom, yesterday June 10. I have spent 24 hours reading and sharing all the tributes online without the will power to comment myself. I had spent all day yesterday saying farewell, one way or another, to colleagues and friends, and even to a doctoral student after a very successful defense. But I did not quite expect to receive the news at the […]

Categories: contemporary music, music composition, new choral music • Tags: Sven-David Sandstrom

Two oratorios sing the trials of our society and prayers of reflection

May 5, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

I am delighted to announce that Ensemble Concept/21 has invited the Euclid Quartet, Kosmologia, and the Notre Dame Children’s Choir to premiere the oratorios The Tower and the Garden by Gregory Spears and Beatitudes by Jorge Muñiz, under my direction, next Friday, May 10, at 7 pm, in the Campus Auditorium of Indiana University South Bend. This project joins together two important sponsors of creativity in this country– The New Frontiers Program at Indiana University, and the Ann Stookey Fund […]

Categories: art and religion, art and society, gesamtkünstwerk, intermedia, music composition, new choral music, new forms of presentation, new opera and music drama, postclassical music, sacred music • Tags: CARMEN HELENA TELLEZ, Denise Levertov, Gregory Spears, Jorge Muñiz, Notre Dame Vocale, Thomas Merton

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Celebrating Crumb

April 16, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/arts/music/george-crumb-90th-birthday.html We begin what I hope will be a oceanic wave of homages to George Crumb, who is turning 90 years old. When I was very young, he was among the living composers who ignited my love of newly composed music belonging to our time. Somehow he was both ancient and utterly futuristic. I thank the teacher who first pointed me to him, Dr. Mary Wennerstrom, at Indiana University. It has been the love of a lifetime.

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A beautiful project, full of meaning and timeliness!

January 2, 2019 by carmen helena tellez

Pianist Yael Weiss has embarked in a thoughtful and timely project in preparation for the 250’s anniversary of Beethoven’s birth in 2020. At some point she reached out to me about women composers from Venezuela and Cuba, but at that moment I did not realize the full impact of her concept. Beethoven was, after all, a man who espoused and defended the ideals of liberty and justice; the famed anecdote tells of his tearing the original dedication of his Third […]

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