Jorge Alvaro Sarmientos (1931-2012)

was a composer and conductor. He obtained his musical education at the National Conservatory in Guatemala with Ricardo Castillo. He was awarded fellowships to study in Paris as well as Buenos Aires. He took conducting classes with Boulez (1969) and Celibidache(1972). From 1972- 1991 he was the musical director for Guatemalan Symphony Orchestra, and has had numerous appearances as a guest conductor in many countries including Latin America, France, the US, Israel, and Japan. He often included his own compositions during these appearances. He taught at the Guatemalan National Conservatory from 1967-1991, Rafael Landivar University from 1968-1980, and Francisco Marroquin University from 1982-1986. His works include: La muerte de un personaje, Hommage, and Ofrenda y gratitude.

Enrique Solares (1910-1995)

was a composer who studied piano and composition in Guatemala. He did go to San Francisco where he was a student of Ernst Bacon. He also studied abroad in Brussels, Prague, and Rome. He was also a Guatemalan diplomat serving time in Brussels, Paris, Madrid, as well as other cities. Many of his musical works received awards, but many were not published. Some of his famous works include: (1943) Te Deum for chorus and organ, (1947) Partita for string orchestra, (1955) Estudio en forma de marcha and Cuatro ofrendas for piano, and (1955) Sonata for solo violin.

Salvador Ley (1907-1985)

was a pianist and composer. He studied piano and theory in Guatemala before going to Berlin for seven years to study piano from George Bertram, and studied theory and composition with Wilhelm Klatte and Hugo Leichtentritt. He returned to Guatemala in 1934 where he served as director of the National Conservatory until 1937, and also served as director from 1944-1953. He then immigrated to the United States where he stayed until 1978. During this time he was a coach, teacher, organist, and promoted Latin-American music. In 1978 when he returned to Guatemala he was awarded a pension in recognition of his musical contributions to the country. He continued to work as a teacher at the National Conservatory and soloist. He did return for concert tours in the US in Florida and New York in 1979 and 1980. His musical compositions were influenced by his time in Germany as well as Guatemalan influences.

Jose Castaneda (1898-1983)

was a theorist, composer, and Guatemalan composer. He spent time studying in Paris and in 1930 founded an orchestra called the Ars Nova in Guatemala City. In 1936 the dictator Jorge Ubico made it the official state orchestra and it was then renamed Orquesta Progresista. He left the orchestra and moved to Europe when it became part of the military. He subsequently returned and became director of the National Conservatory where he also taught. One of his compositions La chalena (1922) is still sung at the university. He published a book on musical theory called Las polaridades del ritmo y del sonido in 1967 which had a notation system for music and choreography. His opera Imagenes de nacimiento, and his ballet La serpiente emplumada were both very successful. He also composed three symphonies and two string quartets.

Ricardo Castillo (1891-1966)

was the brother of Jesus and a Guatemalan composer. He studied in Paris the violin and composition and it was in Paris his works were first published. From 1922-1960 he taught at the National Conservatory in Guatemala City music history, composition, harmony, counterpoint, and orchestration. His work also was motivated by Guatemalan folk music, and Mayan history. His composition included approximately twenty four piano pieces as well as composition for two ballets, Estelas de Tikal and Paal Kaba. He also composed ten orchestra works which had a rich Guatemalan theme.

Jesus Castillo (1877-1946)

was a composer as well as studied the ethnic music of the people of Guatemala. He had particular interest in folk music. He studied piano and composition in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala with Miguel Espinoza and Rafael Guzman respectively. He taught music in Quetzaltenango for thirty years, and collected folk music from different areas of Guatemala during that time. His research on folk music of the region and the natives was published in a book he wrote called La Musica Maya-quiche: Region de Guatemala in 1941. His works were an important part of the marimba (Xylophone) bands of the region, and this has continued into the 2oth century.

Rafael Antonio Castellanos (?-1791)

served as an assistant to his uncle and later was maestro of the cathedral as noted above. He utilized the works of other Italian and Spanish composers to sustain the musical level of the cathedral. He composed a number of religious works in Latin, as well as greater than 170 pieces mainly villancicos (religious songs) done for a particular event. These pieces involved song of one to eight voices and included string instruments as well as woodwind and brass instruments. They are full of harmonies and melodies which include Spanish and Italian features. Many center on religious events such as Christmas, some have a military tone others have a comic one. His work only exists in the Archives of Francisco de Paula Garcia Pelaez in Guatemala City.

Manuel Jose de Quiros (?-1765)

He was a teacher, composer, and collector of music. He served as maestro of the Guatemala City Cathedral beginning in 1738 until his death in 1765. He composed 28 works which are primarily Spanish music with a poetic form. His works can be found only in the archives of the Francisco de Paula Garcia Pelaez, in Guatemala City. Several of his compositions are in Latin, such as Parce mihi Domine. All of his works have instruments which accompany it. One of his students included his nephew, Rafael Antonio Castellanos who became maestro of the cathedral after his death. He had interests in Italian music, as well as Spanish and collected a number of works of Italian and Spanish composers of his time period such as Galuppi (Italian) and Sebastian Duron (Spanish) .

Jesus Castillo (1877-1946)

used musical themes in his compositions as well as Indian participants. His brother Ricardo Castillo (1891-1966) was also a Guatemalan composer who had spent time in Paris to study the violin and compose.

Luis Felipe Arias (1870-1908)

was one of the first Guatemalan composers to have a folk theme to his music; most of his work was composed for the piano which was his musical instrument.

Guatemala

Guatemala is located in Central America. Its capital is Guatemala City. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, by the north east by Belize, and by the south east by El Salvador and Honduras. Guatemalan music is comprised of two major cultures: creoles of Spanish language and heritage, and Mayan which includes more than fifty percent of the population.

Julian Carrillo (1875-1965)

Carillo showed versatility in his musical endeavors being a composers, theorist, conductor, violinist, inventor and a teacher. He was a student of Morales. In 1895 he was experimenting with string division and developed a 'new sound' on the violin and called it el sonido trece (the 13th sound).
He served many years at the National Conservatory but had to leave for New York until the presidency of Obregón. He soon resigned from his public duties and focused more on his theories. He did extensive work with 1/16-tones and created a new notational system. IN 1930 his orchestra was capable of playing exclusively in microtones.

Juventino Rosas (1868-1894)

A very well known violinist and composer of Otomí Indian birth. His father was a harpist and his brothers were guitarists and singers. Shortly before he died in 1894, Rosas composed a set of five waltzes entitled Sobre las olas. This piece is very commonly known in today's repertoire.

Tomas León (1826-1893)

Born in Mexico City, Leon studied music at a very young age and accomplished much by the age of 20. He was the organist of La Profesa in Mexico City at the age of 14. In 1854 he was asked t select the Mexican national anthem.
León was “the best pianist and teacher in Mexico City”. He founded the Sociedad Filarmónica Méxicana. Soon after the Conservatorio Nacional de Música was established. León's dedication to this was apparent as he taught without pay for about 6 years.
Melesio Morales: (1838-1908)
A student of Agustín Caballero, Morales was a well known Mexican composer. He began his first opera at the age of 18. After his second opera Ildegonda in 1865, he moved to Europe.
After 3 years he returned home and began working at the Mexico City Conservatory. He taught famous composers such as Ricardo Castro and Julian Carrillo. Morales was the first conductor to perform Beethoven's symphonies in Mexico. He also dabbled in interpretive orchestration with his piece La locomotiva.-----

Matheo Tollis de la Roca (1710-1780)

Tollis de la Roca was a harpsichordist and composer of Italian birth. He was mainly active in Mexico. After his wife died in 1757, he was appointed assistant maestro de capilla and deputy organist. He received a salary of 500 pesos. Another name that was given to him was 'master of polyphony'. Though many members of the chapel tried to kick him out, he was named chief organist after the death of Juan de Velasco in 1761.
In 1778 he was close to being dismissed for his decreased quality in compositions. He was to be replaced by Cayetano Echevarría. It was suspected that Tollis plagiarized parts of his compositions for female royalty.

Ignacio Jerusalem (1707-1769)

Ignacio Jerusalem was a Mexican composer and violinist of Italian birth. He was born in Lecce and lived with his father, Matteo Martino Gerusalemme, a violinist at the Jesuit church. Ignacio left for Mexico City in 1742 to be recruited for the Antiguo Coliseo. Amongst his colleagues, Jerusalem became director of the Coliseo.
Soon after his appointment of maestro, Jerusalem's health had started to deplete. When he resigned from the Coliseo, he had to deal with much controversy. He faced charges of embezzlement due to unpaid bills. He told the Coliseo that the debt was made by his wife and asked the Coliseo to not stop his income. Jerusalem later had a disagreement with the appointment of Tollis de la Roca. It appeared as though because de la Roca was second-class, Jerusalem had objected his poisiton in the hierarchy.

Manuel de Zumaya(Sumaya) (1678-1755)

Manuel de Zumaya, a composer and organist, was considered a prodigy in Mexico City. The Mexico City Cathedral took care of Manuel after his father's death. He studied organ with José de Ydiáquez, and composition with Antonio de Salazar.
Zumaya wrote a play for the birth of Prince Luis in 1707 entitled Rodrigo. After it was staged, he became maestro de capilla. The Duke of Linares hired Zumaya to translate Italian librettos into Spanish. What stands out about Zumaya is the release of the opera Partenope. It was “the first opera anywhere in the Western hemisphere by an American-born composer”.
Zumaya was a very important composer of the 18th century. In his Latin motets, he wrote free imitative counterpoint. He often used augmented and diminished chords, as well as secondary dominants which often set him apart from other composers of the time.

Juan Mathias (1618-1667)

Born in Zaapache, now known as San Bártolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca, Mathias was the first Zapotec musician to acquire the position of maestro de capilla. He was a singer and organist who proved skill in many other instruments such as the clavichord, lute, viola, and flute. He was under the instruction of maestro Juan de Ribera who died in 1655.
Mathias held the position of maestro until his death in 1667. His music was very popular to the indigenous world and his piece Stabat mater is still performed on Good Friday in Oaxaca.

Francisco Lopez Capillas (1605-8 to 1674)

López, the son of Bartolomé López and María de la Trindad, was admitted to the choir of Mexico City Cathedral around 1625. He attended the University of Mexico and graduated in theology. He was the assistant organist of Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla. Within four days of Ximeno's death, López was appointed organist as well maestro de capilla. It was from then on that he changed his name to López Capillas (López of the Chapels).
At the time of his death, it was noted that López was earning 1000 pesos. That was one of the largest salaries received by a Mexican church musician during the time. His works were all written according to the prima practica.

Fabian Perez Ximeno (1595-1654)

Ximeno, born in Mexico City, served as first organist at Mexico City Cathedral at the age of 47. Six years later he was made maestro de capilla following the death of Luis Coronado. While holding this position, he accepted Coronado's nephew Juan as his assistant. Ximeno was interested in polychoral works. He wrote numerous masses, three Magnificat settings, two Lenten motets, a Dixit Dominus, and a 5-part Christmas carol. Ximeno died in Mexico City, where he was born, in 1654. His successor was Francisco López Capillas.