Augusto Rodríguez a.k.a. "Tito" (February 9, 1904- January 5, 1993), was a music composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and chorus

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

 director. Rodríguez was the founder of the Choir of the University of Puerto Rico.

Early years

Rodríguez, (birth name: Augusto Alejandro Rodríguez Amador) was born in the city of San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

, the capital of Puerto Rico. He began taking music lessons under the guidance of Rosa Sicardó and Elisa Tavárez

Elisa Tavárez

Elisa Tavárez was a Puerto Rican pianist of international renown. She was the daughter of the "Father of the danza" Manuel G. Tavárez. Elisa Tavárez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. She is recognized in Ponce at the Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens....

 and by the age of 12, played for an orchestra.

In 1920, Rodríguez graduated from the Escuela Superior Central de Santurce (Santurce Central High School). Rodríguez decided to become a medical doctor and enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico

The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...

's school of medicine to study the institutions premedical courses. In 1932, Rodríguez abandoned his medical studies and went to Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, MA. where he studied music both at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

 and at the New England Conservatory of Music

New England Conservatory of Music

The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...

.

Musical career

In 1934, Rodríguez returned to Puerto Rico and taught music at his Alma Mater and served as director of the Puerto Rican Philharmonic. Two years later he founded the university's first choir. The "Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico" (Choir of the University of Puerto Rico) as it became known, was highly acclaimed by the critics. The choir performed in various cities in Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

, and in the main cities of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Among the favorable critics was Noel Strauss, from The New York Times in his column of that papers May 30, 1949 edition, after witnessing the choir's performance at New York's Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....

. Among the many notable members of the Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico was Justino Diaz

Justino Díaz

Justino Díaz is an internationally renowned bass-baritone opera singer. In 1963, Díaz won an annual contest held at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, becoming the "first" Puerto Rican to obtain such an honor and as a consequence, made his Metropolitan debut on October 1963 in Verdi's Rigoletto...

. Diaz participated alongside José Freire, Norman Veve, Paco O'Neill, Guiso Cosme, Carmencita Collazo, Sonia Cordero, and Lysette Alvarez. Rodríguez and Puerto Rican music legend Jesus Maria Sanroma

Jesús Maria Sanromá

Jesús María Sanromá was a Puerto Rican pianist. He is considered by many to be one of the 20th century's most accomplished and important pianists.-Early years:...

helped get Diaz a UPR scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music. Rodríguez continued in his role as the director of the "Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico" until 1970.

Rodríguez was also the founder and director of two other choirs in Puerto Rico. They were "Cantores del Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña" and "Coro del Festival de Opera de Puerto Rico." It is estimated that he composed over 150 works not only for the choirs - but also danzas, waltzes, and the film scores for numerous movie productions.

The development of Puerto Rico's local movie industry was regulated by the DIVEDCO Program (División de Educación de la Comunidad) from 1948 to 1991. Music was a very important part of the DIVEDCO film program from the beginning and Rodríguez composed the musical scores for El Santero (1956), a co-production with the University of Puerto Rico Museum, and for El Contemplado (1957).

Awards and recognitions

In 1961, Rodríguez was the recipient of both the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture's and the Puerto Rican Athenaeum's Medal of Honor. He was also named Professor Emeritus and Resident composer of the University of Puerto Rico.

Later years and legacy

Rodríguez was among the founders of "Pro Arte Musical" of Puerto Rico and served as president of "The Federation of Puerto Rican Musicians." He was also the founder of the Hebrew Festival Chorus of San Juan's Jewish Community and guest conductor of the Coro Radio Nacional de Espana.

On January 5, 1993, Rodríguez died in his residence in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The city of San Juan honored his memory by naming a street Calle Prof. Augusto Rodriguez after him. In 1999, the alumni from the Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico that sang with Augusto Rodríguez reunited, under the direction of Norman Veve, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their first appearance in Carnegie Hall.