Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico

About

The Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music (Spanish: Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico) is a public conservatory in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It has hosted a number of international musicians as students as well as faculty, and has a longstanding relationship with the classical music movement in Puerto Rico, including the annual Casals Festival and the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (PRSO). Following the success of the Casals Festival held in San Juan in 1957, state legislator Ernesto Ramos Antonini proposed several laws which would create the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra that same year, and the Conservatory of Music in June 1959.

The conservatory was originally envisioned as a school for preparing musicians for the PRSO and for preparing music teachers for the state public education system. Throughout the years, however, the conservatory has become a musical landmark in the Caribbean, providing advanced academic studies in various music areas to local students as well as international visitors. Since its inception, the conservatory has been under the administration of state government agencies, including the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (Compañía de Fomento Económico), the Administration for the Encouragement of Arts and Culture (Administración para el Fomento de las Artes y Cultura), and the Musical Arts Corporation (Corporación de las Artes Musicales, or CAM). Collectively, all three were called "The Organization" by the administration.