John Veihmeyer presents Tony Taylor Award to Diana

Diana V. Sáez is the founder and artistic director of Coral Cantigas, a chorus that, prior to her arrival in 1991, had no precedent  in the greater Washington metropolitan area outside of local Latin American and Caribbean community churches. A native of Puerto Rico, Diana earned a Master of Education from Harvard University, and a Master of Choral Conducting from Temple University.

In October 2003 she will be the recipient of the 2003 Tony Taylor Award, presented by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, for her artistic excellence and noticeable assistance to artists in our region. In December 2002 she was awarded the Arts in the Community Award for Excellence 2002, given by the Montgomery County (MD) Executive Douglas Duncan and Discovery Communications, Inc., for her major contribution to the quality of life in Montgomery County through the arts. In 1999, she received the Poder con Ganas Award presented by the Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County in recognition of outstanding and sustained leadership in empowering the Latin American community.

As director of Coral Cantigas, Diana has prepared and conducted choirs for Washington D.C. premiere performances of Paco Peña's Misa Flamenca (Spain), Antonio Mir's Misa Coral (Argentina), Luis Morales Bance's oratorio Berruecos (Venezuela), Ernani Aguiar's Cantilena (Brazil) and the anonymous colonial Bolivian-work Misa Encarnación. She has also presented sessions for regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and frequently serves as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator.

In addition to her work with Coral Cantigas, Diana directs the World Bank-International Monetary Fund Choral Society and the Women's Choir of The Catholic University of America. She is a founding member of Cantaré, a musical ensemble dedicated to performing music from Latin America for children. Since 2001 Ms. Sáez has been invited to be part of the Maryland Artist-Teacher Institute, a professional development program for teachers and school administrators in making connection, designing and implementing arts-integrated school curriculum, under the auspices of the Maryland State Department of Education and the Maryland State Arts Council.