Leonardo Balada

Born in Barcelona, renowned composer Leonardo Balada studied piano at Conservatori Superior de Musica del Liceu before immigrating to the United States in 1956 to continue his studies at the Juilliard School in New York. His music, which combines traditional and folk music with the avant-garde, has been performed by the world’s leading orchestras. Among his many compositions he has written four full-length operas: Zapata, Christopher Columbus, Death of Columbus, and Faust-bal, a modern interpretation of the classic Faust. In addition to his work as a musician, he has been teaching at Carnegie Mellon University since 1970. Updated 2013