Celia Torrá Explained

Celia Torrá (18 September 1889 – 16 December 1962)^[1] was an Argentine composer, conductor, and violinist.^[2] She was the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the Teatro Colón.^[3]

Torrá was born in Concepción del Uruguay, Entre Rios, Argentina. Her father was her first violin teacher.^[4] She later studied music with Andres Gaos, Athos Palma,^[5] and Alberto Williams.^[6]

In 1909, she won a National Commission of Fine Arts prize which funded her studies in Europe with Vincent d'Indy, Jenő Hubay, Zoltán Kodály, Paul Le Flem, and César Thomson.^[7] She won the Royal Conservatory of Brussels' Grand Prix for violin in 1911. The Entre Rios provincial government gave her a grant to continue her studies in Europe.^[8] She remained in France during World War I, where she gave benefit concerts for the Red Cross.

In 1921, Torrá returned to Argentina where she was the first female conductor at the Teatro Colón. In 1930, she founded and directed the Asociación Coral Femenina, which later merged with the Asociación Sinfónica Femenina.^[9]

Torrá conducted both groups in over 200 concerts. In 1952, she founded a choir for the employees of Philips Argentina S.A., the first workers choir in Argentina.

Chamber

• En Piragua (violin and piano)
• Pieces (violin and piano)

Orchestra

• Rapsodia entrerriana
• Suite en Tres Tiempos
• Suite Incaica
• Suite y Rapsodia Entrerriana
• Tres Piezas para Arcos (string orchestra)

Piano

• Sonata^[10]

External links

• • Watch

Notes and References

1. Book: Greene, Frank. Composers on Record: An Index to Biographical Information on 14,000 Composers Whose Music Has Been Recorded. 1985. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-1816-3. en.
2. Book: Hixon, Donald L.. Women in music: an encyclopedic biobibliography. 1993. Scarecrow Press. Don A. Hennessee. 0-8108-2769-7. 2nd. Metuchen, N.J.. 28889156.
3. Web site: Torrá, Celia. 30 June 2021. Donne. en-GB.
4. Web site: Celia Torrá: la violinista que rompió barreras. 1 July 2021. miradorprovincial.com.
5. Book: Center. Indiana University, Bloomington Latin American Music. Scores and Recordings at the Indiana University Latin American Music Center. Lorenz. Ricardo. Dirie. Gerardo. 1995. Indiana University Press. 978-0-253-33273-8. en.
6. Book: Tiemstra, Suzanne Spicer. The Choral Music of Latin America: A Guide to Compositions and Research. 1992. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-28208-9. en.
7. Book: Organ and Harpsichord Music by Women Composers: An Annotated Catalog. 1991. ABC-CLIO. 978-0-313-26802-1. en.
8. Book: Cohen, Aaron I.. International encyclopedia of women composers. 1987. 0-9617485-2-4. Second edition, revised and enlarged. New York. 16714846.
9. Book: The Music Magazine/Musical Courier. Jul 1939. en.
10. Book: Slonimsky, Nicolas. Nicolas Slonimsky. Music Of Latin America. 1972-10-21. Da Capo Press. 978-0-306-71188-6.