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

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

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, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, the capital of Puerto Rico. He began taking music lessons under the guidance of Rosa Sicardó and Elisa Tavárez and, by the age of 12, played for an orchestra.Puerto Rico Popular Culture
/ref> In 1920, Rodríguez graduated from the ''Escuela Superior Central de Santurce'' (Santurce Central High School). Rodríguez decided to become a doctor and enrolled in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

's school of medicine as a pre-med student. In 1932, Rodríguez abandoned his medical studies and went to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where he studied music both at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and at the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

.Endi

Musical career

In 1934, Rodríguez returned to Puerto Rico to teach music at the

(UPR). He also served as director of the Puerto Rican Philharmonic. Two years later, Rodríguez founded the university's first choir, the ''Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico'' (Choir of the University of Puerto Rico), which was highly acclaimed by the critics. The choir performed in various cities in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

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, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, and in the main cities of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. 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 ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. Amongst the many notable members of the ''Coro de la Universidad de Puerto Rico'' were

Justino Diaz Justino is a name which is used as both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Justino de Azcárate (1903–1989), Spanish lawyer and politician * Justino Díaz (born 1940), Puerto Rican operatic bass-barit ...

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

Jesús María Sanromá Jesús María Sanromá (November 7, 1902 – October 12, 1984) was a Puerto Rican pianist who is one of the 20th century's most accomplished and important pianists. In 1932 he gave the first North American performance of Maurice Ravel's Concerto ...

helped get Justino 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.It started and ended with Joe Black
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)."Film Music and Community Development in Rural Puerto Rico: The DIVEDCO Program (1948–91)"; by: Donald Thompson
/ref>

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. He was buried at the

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under ...

. 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.

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