José García-León

Welcome to Yale Afternoons with Alison! In this series, Alison Cole ’99, executive director of the YAA, meets with university leaders to learn more about their priorities and how the alumni community can support them. All conversations occur at Rose Alumni House, the home of the alumni association and a hub for activity on campus. Bring your favorite beverage and enjoy the conversation.  In this episode, Alison chats with José García-León, Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of the Yale School of Music. García-León shares how the music school is reaching across the university, and how he stumbled across his favorite New Haven pizza place. José García-León is the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale University, a role to which he brings a broad, international perspective and a commitment to more equitably extending the reach of music education. García-León was born in Seville, Spain, where, as an ascendant pianist, he graduated with highest honors from that city’s Conservatorio Superior de Música. He continued his studies in the United States as a scholarship student, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. His career on stage, launched with a prize-winning performance at the Artist International Competition in New York, has included concerts at such celebrated institutions as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and the St. Petersburg International Music Festival. Endlessly curious and erudite, García-León’s scholarship has explored Spanish folk and classical music, including the influence of popular works on classical traditions, and the beginnings and cultural significance of flamenco music, particularly the distinctions between that style and Argentinian tango. He has given presentations and lecture-recitals in the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America.