Augusto Rodriguez Puerto Rican composer and choral conductor Country: USA

Biography of Augusto Rodriguez

Augusto Alejandro Rodriguez Amador, also known as Tito, was a Puerto Rican composer and choral conductor. He was born on February 9, 1904, in San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Rodriguez began taking music lessons from teachers such as Rosa Sicardó and Elisa Tavárez, and by the age of 12, he was already playing in an orchestra. In 1920, he graduated from Santurce Central High School and initially pursued a career in medicine, enrolling in the University of Puerto Rico's medical school. However, in 1932, Rodriguez decided to abandon medicine and traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, where he studied music at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Upon his return to Puerto Rico in 1934, Rodriguez taught music at his alma mater and also served as the conductor of the Puerto Rican Philharmonic Orchestra. Two years later, he founded the first university choir, Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, which received critical acclaim. The choir performed in Central and South America, the Caribbean, and major cities in the United States. Notably, Noel Strauss, a columnist for "The New York Times," praised the choir's performance at Carnegie Hall in May 1949. Several members of the choir went on to have successful singing careers, including Justino Diaz, Norman Veve, Paco O'Neill, Guiso Cosme, Carmencita Collazo, Sonia Cordero, and Lysette Alvarez. Rodriguez, along with the legendary Puerto Rican musician Jesus Maria Sanroma, helped Diaz secure a scholarship to study at the New England Conservatory of Music.

Rodriguez continued to lead his choir until 1970. He also founded and directed two other Puerto Rican choirs, Cantores del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and Coro del Festival de Opera de Puerto Rico. It is believed that he composed over 150 works, not only for choral performance but also in genres such as danza, waltzes, and musical themes for several local films. In 1961, Augusto Rodriguez was awarded two Medals of Honor, from the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture and the Puerto Rican Athenaeum. He was also an honorary professor at the University of Puerto Rico. Rodriguez led the Federation of Puerto Rican Musicians and founded the Hebrew Festival Chorus for the Jewish community in San Juan. He was also an invited conductor for the Coro Radio Nacional de Espana.

On January 5, 1993, Rodriguez passed away at his home in San Juan at the age of 88. The city named a street in his honor.