Margarita Luna García
Pedagogue Composer Advocate
About
Margarita Luna García (1921-2016), Dominican composer and pedagogue, was one of the most notable figures of avant-garde music in the Dominican Republic in the twentieth century. Numerous modernist trends converge in her works including serialism, indeterminacy, and graphic notation. Influenced by Paul Hindemith, Béla Bartók, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Dominican composer Manuel Simó, her works synthesize vernacular musical material and modernist techniques. Luna García’s works make use of folk rhythms, native instruments, and are driven by explorations of timbre and time. Her work as a pedagogue and arts advocate had a profound and lasting impact in the musical discourse of the Dominican Republic and her legacy lives on today through the institutions she founded and directed, and in the work of her many pupils.
Research
Dominican women played an active role in the musical life and discourse of the Dominican Republic in the twentieth century, making substantial contributions as composers, performers, pedagogues, and scholars. Their contributions to popular, folkloric, and classical music have been documented by scholars and researchers in both the Dominican Republic and the United States. However, the work of Dominican women in symphonic music remains underrepresented. Despite being recognized as an important figure in her field, Margarita Luna García’s work is underrepresented in performance and publicly available scholarship.
This research project is the first to give exclusive and extensive scholarly attention to Luna García’s life and works. It provides a historical context and framework for the composer and her works, addresses the lack of availability of reliable and published performance materials, and promotes the study and performance of her compositions.
This website is intended as a platform for public access to the results of this research.
