People around the world have had a fascination with tango since it was first exported from Argentina in the 1910s. Many have been exposed to tango through television shows like Dancing with the Stars, or Hollywood movies ranging from the silent film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) with Rudolph Valentino dancing to a version of "La cumparsita," to Scent of a Woman (1992) with Al Pacino dancing to Carlos Gardel's "Por una cabeza," and Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie dancing to "Assassin's Tango" from the movie soundtrack by John Powell. Many musicians are familiar with the music of Astor Piazzolla, whose concert works have become popular in the 20th-century concert repertoire. In truth, tango is a multidimensional art form that encompasses dance, music, and poetry. In this presentation, I will first highlight these three dimensions, then concentrate on the distinct musical elements that identify the tango music, such as rhythm, instrumentation, phrasing and form, harmony, and melody. Through A/V and score excepts, I will illustrate these musical elements with examples by the early Afro���Argentine payador Gabino Ezeiza (1858-1916) and first tango singer Carlos Gardel (1890?–1935); the guardia vieja pioneer Eduardo Arolas (1892–1924); the guardia nueva icon Julio De Caro (1899-1980); the Golden-Age maestro Aníbal Troilo (1914-1975); the post-Golden-Age pillars Horacio Salgán (1916-2016) and Piazzolla (1921-1922); and tango music today in the music of pianist/composer Sonia Possett (b. 1973). Finally, I will discuss recent tango scholarship and field any questions about my work or contributions to the tango archive in the Center for Latin American Music.About the PresenterKristin Wendland earned a B.M. in Theory from Florida State, M.M. in Composition from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and Ph.D. in Music Composition from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. With her research partner Kacey Link, Wendland has published two books on Argentine tango, Tracing Tangueros: Argentine Tango Instrumental Music (Oxford 2016) and The Cambridge Companion to Tango (2024). Through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the two codirected the international Tango in the Humanities Conference & Emory TangoFest in Atlanta in November 2024. Wendland recently published the monograph The Power of Practice: How Music and Yoga Transformed the Life and Work of Yehudi Menuhin (2024) with SUNY Press, which is also available in an open-access digital edition. Wendland served as a teaching professor of music at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, for over 25 years. Now in her retirement, she serves as organist and choirmaster at Christ the King Episcopal Church in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and directs the Emerald Coast Community Singers. She lives in Freeport, Florida, with her husband Pat and their two cats Chico and Bella.