Juan F. Acosta (May 27, 1890 – 1968) was a Puerto Rican

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 music teacher.

Early years

Acosta, who came from a numerous family, was born and educated in the town of

San Sebastián, Puerto Rico San Sebastián (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northwestern region of the island, south of Isabela, Quebradillas and Camuy; north of Las Marías; east of Moca and Añasco; and west of Lares. San Sebastián is sp ...

located on the western part of Puerto Rico. His parents, realized that their son was gifted with musical talent, enrolled him at a young age to take music classes. He was under the tutorship of Jesus Fiqueroa (1878–1971), an accomplished composer himself, who taught him how to play various musical instruments, among them the

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

and the euphonium. By 1900, when Acosta was only 10 years old, he was able to prepare the musical arrangements for the orchestras directed by Fiqueroa. In 1906, when he was 16 years old, Acosta was approached by the director of the San Sebastian Municipal Band,

Ángel Mislan Ángel Mislan (March 1, 1862 – February 1, 1911) was a composer of Puerto Rican Danzas. Early years Mislan (birth name: Ángel Mislan Huertas) was born in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico where he was raised and educated. The small town is loc ...

(1862–1911) who took him under his wing. Mislan taught Acosta the art of musical composition and harmony. Every town had a Band which played in the town's square. The position of Band director was considered a very important one and when Mislan left San Sebastian, he recommended that Acosta be his successor.Acosta
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First composition

Acosta had a girlfriend called Carmela who in turn had another friend by the same name. Before moving from San Sebastian, in 1909, at the age of 19, he wrote his first

danza Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence danc ...

titled ''Las Carmelas'', inspired by the girls. He moved to the town of Adjuntas where he organized its municipal band and various school bands. It is also where he met his future wife, Ramonita Nieves. Acosta's artistic talent was soon solicited in other parts of Puerto Rico and he found himself working and visiting other towns. One of his students was a young man by the name of

Rafael Alers Rafael Alers (October 16, 1903 – March 20, 1978) was a musician, composer, bandleader and the first Puerto Rican to compose the music score for a Hollywood feature film. Early years Alers (birth name: Rafael Alers Gerena ) was born in the city ...

, who in the future would also become a distinguished musician himself. He visited over 37 towns, where he instructed teachers in music and helped develop the educational music system of their schools. On July 7, 1936, Acosta was resting under a pine tree in the plaza of the town of Hatillo, which inspired him to write one of his greatest compositions, the danza ''Bajo La Sombra de un Pino'' (Under the Shade of a Pine). Among Acosta's many compositions are ''Asi es la Vida'' (That's Life); and "''Glorias del Pasado''" (Glories of the Past). Acosta wrote over 844 musical pieces, including 127 hymns.

Later years

Juan F. Acosta died in 1968 and is buried in Quebradillas. According to his wishes, his family planted a pine tree by his grave. Over 300 of Acosta's musical compositions are safeguarded in the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. In the 1960s, the Institute made a recording of 12 of Acosta's greatest compositions, interpreted in piano by Elsa Rivera Salgado (1908–1998).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta, Juan F. 1890 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American composers People from San Sebastián, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican composers Puerto Rican male composers 20th-century Puerto Rican musicians 20th-century American male musicians

Early years

First composition

Later years

See also

References