LATIN MUSIC EDUCATION IN NEW YORK

Abstract

This chapter details the longstanding formal and informal Latin music education settings and networks in New York City, as well as some of the ways in which the musicians benefited from them. It introduces three Puerto Rican women, from the 1920s through 1950s, who taught some of the greatest pianists to emerge from the New York scene. The chapter then presents a Panamanian pianist and a Cuban flautist who imparted musicianship, theory, and piano lessons to countless musicians who were influential performers, composers, and arrangers. The Afro-Latin folkloric music scene in New York was an incubator for musical innovation and preservation; musicians from across ethnic groups have studied, performed, and recorded ritual and folkloric genres. New York City, unlike sites within the Caribbean, offered a wide range of formal and informal study opportunities for musicians from throughout the Caribbean. It explores some of the institutions that served as meeting grounds for musicians, and provided both rehearsal and performance opportunities for aspiring musicians.