Cecilia Montemayor’s area of musicological study is Mexican art song. Her book, *El lied mexicano* (The Mexican Lied), a catalog of music for voice and piano published by the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, is considered unique in its field internationally, making it a constant source of reference for singers, teachers, and researchers. This book, along with her international experiences in vocal training, has given the soprano a clear understanding of what is lacking in Mexico within this musical genre. For nearly 12 years, she has dedicated herself to promoting the genre through various projects, such as the Mexican Association of Singing Teachers, which brings together teachers from 19 states of Mexico, and the National Congress, now in its sixth edition, scheduled for January 2015 in Mérida, Yucatán.
This is how the promotion of art song has developed at all levels, both in teaching and in concerts. Later, research was undertaken that yielded a catalog of Mexican composers working in the genre.
“When I told a colleague that I intended to organize an art song festival, she asked me, ‘We don’t know how much art song there is in Mexico.’ From there, the idea arose that I should first create an inventory to determine whether art song, from a compositional standpoint, was present in Mexico; that was what we didn’t know because no one had compiled it.
“In that research, which took me five years, focused exclusively on voice and piano, I discovered a body of nearly 2,000 songs. That’s how we knew there was plenty of material to continue with the project,” added the president of the Mexican Association of Singing Teachers.
Cecilia Montemayor expressed that promoting this music is important and necessary so that singers have the opportunity to observe, learn, and even experience other types of repertoire. Original source: https://www.gob.mx/cultura/prensa/arranca-el-primer-festival-internacional-de-cancion-de-arte-mexico-lieder-fest-en-monterrey-nuevo-leon