'A Danzon My Way' work by composer Ivette Herryman opens National Conference of the American Orchestra League

June 21, 2022

Cuban composer Ivette Herryman Rodríguez, faculty member of the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, is happy because one of her pieces "A Danzon My Way" opened the National Conference of the American Orchestra League, which was held in Los Angeles in early June.

Rodríguez, who was born on the Isle of Youth, was invited to the special presentation of her composition by the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra. Her piece was conducted by renowned music director Gustavo Dudamel at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, reported the WWNYTV network.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic also requested the same piece to perform at two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl on July 22 and 23, also conducted by Dudamel. Her piece will open the concerts, followed by two works by Arturo Márquez, and will conclude with a special collaboration between LA Phil and Latin pop music star Ricky Martin, added the cited source.

"I feel very grateful and happy about these three performances. I can't believe they're happening, but I'm certainly trying to be as present as possible and enjoy this moment that really feels like a gift from God," Rodríguez confessed.

"I love composing and I've been able to stay active while teaching at the same time. This moment feels like reaping the fruits of my work and like a gift at the same time," said Rodríguez, assistant professor of composition and music theory at The Crane School of Music, to WWNYTV.

Rodríguez first wrote "A Danzon My Way" in 2016 as a result of winning a composition competition during her doctoral studies at Michigan State University, the media reported.

"This piece is based on the Cuban musical genre danzón, which is also a dance. The form of a danzón can be understood as an evolutionary process in itself," Rodríguez explained.

"It begins with a slow introduction called paseo, in which dancers walk and relate to each other as in a conversation. The main theme is then played alternating with other themes as the danzón progresses. The final section, which was added some years after the conception of the genre, is called mambo. This section features a riff that repeats in the form of a chorus. Its tempo is a bit faster and the rhythmic element of the music becomes the priority," she detailed to WWNYTV.

Ivette Herryman Rodríguez holds a Bachelor's degree in Music in musical composition from the Instituto Superior de Artes (ISA) in Havana, a master's degree in musical composition from Baylor University and a master's degree in music theory and a doctorate in musical composition from Michigan State University. She studied composition with Juan Piñera, Scott McAllister, Ricardo Lorenz and Zhou Tian, according to her official website.

Ivette's music has been described as "absolutely exquisite" and "impressively beautiful." She is the composer of a bestselling piece for women's choir, published by Walton Music. She is a winner of a Special Cubadisco Award, a Brandon Fradd Scholarship in Musical Composition awarded by the CINTAS Foundation and the 2019 Composer Commission program of the Illinois State Music Teachers Association, among other awards.

"Ivette has taught Music Theory and Composition at the Instituto Superior de Artes, the Opera of El Salvador (OPES), the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Western Illinois University, where she also taught Piano Classes. Currently, she is Assistant Professor of Theory and Composition at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, NY," added the cited source.