Berklee College of Music to Remember Cuban Juan Blanco

Havana, May 11. -A group of students and graduates of the Berklee College of Music in Boston will pay tribute in Havana to the 50th anniversary of of the piece Musica Para Danza by the late Cuban composer Juan Blanco.

A few months after visiting Cuba, a delegation from the prestigious Berklee College led by its vice presidents will return as guests to Cubadisco International Fair and perform concerts in Havana and Santiago de Cuba.

Professor and saxophone player Neil Leonard told Prensa Latina that one of the students is instrumentalist Christian Li, "one of the most talented pianists of the school," and well-known composers of electronic music.

The composer Blanco was a pioneer in electro-acoustic music in Cuba and Latin America.

Leonard said the school's administrators were very interested in Cuba because part of the institution's mission is to teach and study the music of the African diaspora in America.

On this visit, the college will continue strengthening its contacts with the Laboratotio Nacional de Musica, founded by Juan Blanco and currently directed by his son, Enmanuel Blanco.

One of the goals is to promote the contact between local DJs and the Department of Popular Music of Berklee, for joint projects.

"We would like to receive students from Berklee at least twice a year, and have Cuban composers perform over there," Enmanuel Blanco said. (Prensa Latina)