We recently connected with Leonardo Le San and have shared our conversation below.

Leonardo , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I began as a young artist with a laser-focused mentality to learn the craft of a composer and pianist. I was observant of the troubadour-type musicians who sang and entertained family gatherings, social events, and public concerts in my hometown of Colombia. These self-taught musicians could communicate with the audience and keep folks of all ages engaged in the songs’ storytelling. I had diverse exposure to Colombian folk music, popular styles, and American music when our family moved to the US when I was just a preteen. My instincts were pulling me toward more of the classical and jazz genres. Once I made that choice I became quite dedicated to learning many of the works of the masters of J.S Bach, Scarlatti, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Bartok, Ellington, and the list goes on. Delving deep into my craft as a pianist helped me stand out early in my career. My long-term goal was to become a composer so having such a diverse skill set and rich influences has given me plenty of choices for my creative output as a musical author, performer, and producer.
I’m thankful for all my teachers and peers who helped me grow in my craft and artistic development. Having mentors was essential in particular Dr. Otey, a great pianist and composer who encouraged me to think about the industry’s business side. That was perhaps an important element that in the academia, we were not given tools to face an evolving industry. The music programs were solid in teaching us about ear training, theory, harmony, a summary of the last 600 years of the Western canon. Still, the business side, such as management, contract negotiations, copyright knowledge, corruption in the industry, interest groups influencing reputable competitions and awards was something I had to learn the hard way and on my own. While facing the challenges of the industry as an artist I pulled into what I saw in my parents and brother who were entrepreneurs and business-minded but were outside the music industry. In retrospect, the experience of my entrepreneurial family was worth a college degree in itself. I should have leaned into that source of wisdom a bit earlier in my career but my focus was always centered around my craft, virtuosity as an artist, and ethical commitment to art without compromising for business reasons. That was idealistic and came from a good place but it was also naive and it forced me to learn the hard way the realities of the industry and world. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to dedicate myself to my art and it has given me gold medals in Vienna, awards in NYC, many recordings, albums, projects, and publications in magazines and newspapers, radio, and TV. But I was fortunate to also develop the business/practical side of my brain which helped me to start a small company, a non-profit organization, a podcast, international projects, and new works ranging from solo, vocal, chamber, and orchestral to ballet.

Leonardo , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I was a kid, only a few of my friends had Nintendos. My brother and I began music lessons and our teacher taught us one or two songs. When my friends would come over they would ask for us to play music for them. After we played the two songs that our teacher had taught us we ran out of repertoire. That’s when I began to improvise and compose on the spot to keep my friends entertained. There weren’t iPhones or laptops then so music playing was a great tool to connect with others. After some practice, I noticed my friends thought that these were real songs and seemed pleased by the tunes, harmonies, and keyboard dexterity they saw. My brother and I put a band together and with the support of our parents, we played festivals, small venues, and concerts and had recording sessions with professional producers. While we were still in High School, our ensemble once had the opportunity to open up fests for Brenda K. Star and Marc Anthony in New Jersey in front of thousands of people. As a composer, I work with performing artists, chamber groups, or solo artists to create new works for them. I learn about each instrument’s or voice’s configuration, range, colors, and idiomatic capabilities though I tend to push limits if the music and ideas call for it. The collaboration tends to be open to ideas, interpretation, and excellent results on stage as the artists showcase their brilliance while premiering a new work. I think teamwork is essential to bring new ideas to fruition. The collaborations produce recordings, concert series, or the premiere of a new work by the artists that invite me to write for them. I have been a recording artist and composer-performer myself for many years and I appreciate the fans that have listened to my albums, attended my concerts, or watched my broadcasts on TV. For anyone interested in my music or recordings, the music is available on any of the major digital platforms Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, etc. I’m the founder of a new organization dedicated to new music and supporting living composers and artists. The name of the brand new organization is New Music in New York and North America. Please connect with us via our website https://nmnyna.org/ or on Linkedin.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal as an artist is to be true to my internal creative voice. Yes, I keep an open mind to learn from others both the masters of the past, my colleagues, mentors, teachers, contemporary culture, and life itself. But at the end of the day, I follow my instincts when I hear music in my head and try to transfer these ideas to the manuscript or to any other tool that helps the externalization of the music coming from within. Having said all of that my goals are also to help performers shine as they premiere these new works. Sometimes new music can challenge the audience and hopefully, the listeners can give the new works a chance. Sometimes artists have to say in subtle ways what others feel or see but can’t voice for some reason. Artists can foresee through creative explorations what may occur in the future but at other times artists can express a mere reflection of the culture and contemporary events. The artist has to remain true to that inner voice whatever it may be. Regardless of how beautiful, dark, distorted, uncomfortable, unnatural, real, abstract, or fictional it may be. I try to bring a community of diverse artists from different disciplines together so that we can all inspire each other and continue to produce innovative and original art.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The biography of “Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson” was quite inspiring. I found Jobs’ interdisciplinary approach between tech, art, and design fascinating. Jobs’ interests in calligraphy, design, and music helped shape his Apple innovative brand to stand out from the rest. As an artist, producer, and entrepreneur, I have been adapting to tech and an evolving industry. We can learn to use the new tech or existing tools for the advancement of our ideas, works, and start-up companies or initiatives. Other stories that inspired me were Clara Schumann and Robert Schumann. Clara was a virtuoso concert pianist and composer. Robert was a great composer, pianist, and student of law. Clara was a touring celebrity in her time and Robert was contributing as a writer to editorials and music publications while also composing new works. I found their versatility and creative music/arts community remarkable and worthy of emulating in our time today.
https://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/stories/clara-and-robert-schumann/

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leonardolesan.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leonardolesan/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leonardolesan/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonardo-le-san-95b19b2b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Classicalvideo10

Image Credits

David Johanson
Jose Arce
Christopher Stout
Caroline Santa
Michael Beris