Celia Torrá (18 September 1889 – 16 December 1962) was an Argentine composer, conductor, and violinist. She was the first woman to conduct an orchestra at the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón () is a historic opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acoustics expert Leo Beranek among leadin ...

. Torrá was born in

Concepción del Uruguay Concepción del Uruguay is a city in Argentina. It is located in the Entre Ríos province, on the western shore of the Uruguay River, some 320 kilometers north from Buenos Aires. Its population is about 80,000 inhabitants (). History The city ...

, Entre Rios, Argentina. Her father was her first violin teacher. She later studied music with Andres Gaos, Athos Palma, and

Alberto Williams Alberto Williams (23 November 1862 – 17 June 1952) was an Argentine composer, pianist, pedagogue, and conductor. Life and work Alberto Williams was born in Buenos Aires, in 1862. His maternal grandfather, Amancio Jacinto Alcorta, had been ...

. In 1909, she won a National Commission of Fine Arts prize which funded her studies in Europe with

Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Pa ...

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay von Szalatna ( ; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born into a German family of musicians in Pest, Hungary ...

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

Paul Le Flem Marie-Paul Achille Auguste Le Flem (18 March 1881 – 31 July 1984) was a French composer and music critic. Biography Born in Radon, Orne, of Breton parentage, son of Célestin Louis Joseph Marie Le Flem and wife Gabrielle Marie Dorenlo, and liv ...

, and

César Thomson César Thomson (18 March 1857 – 21 August 1931) was a Belgian violinist, teacher, and composer. Biography He was born in Liège in 1857. At age seven, he entered the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and studied under Désiré Heynberg, Rodolp ...

. She won the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (, ) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Providing performing music and drama courses, the institution became renowned par ...

' Grand Prix for violin in 1911. The Entre Rios provincial government gave her a grant to continue her studies in Europe. 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. 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''

Vocal

References

External links

* *Watch {{DEFAULTSORT:Torra, Celia 20th-century Argentine women composers Argentine classical composers Argentine women classical composers Argentine violinists Argentine women violinists 1889 births 1962 deaths Argentine conductors (music) Argentine women conductors (music) People from Entre Ríos Province Royal Conservatory of Brussels alumni