Karl Julius Weber, an outstanding German historian, once said that music is a truly universal human language. According to this quote, with the help of music, people can communicate freely instead of shooting, fighting or insulting. When people listen to music, it equalizes them and makes them educated, creative and unusual. Imagine how it transforms human consciousness if the individual studies it for professional growth. What will happen when someone learns to play musical instruments, sing or dance? It is not for nothing that musicians or representatives of creative professions are considered the higher world. Therefore, let’s take a look at how you can learn this art while in the Bronx and how the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music can help. The bronx1.one tells more about it.
Are there music schools in the Bronx?
There are institutions in the Bronx that teach or taught until recently various areas of music. Here are a few of them:
- The Bronx Conservatory of Music is a music school that teaches playing various instruments. It also teaches to sing in a choir and provides general knowledge of music. Thus, students study music theory here.
- The Bronx House School for the Performing Arts is a school that teaches various areas related to music, including music itself, dance and theater.
- The Turtle Bay Music School was located in Manhattan but its branches were also in the Bronx. Here you could learn to play various instruments and sing.
In total, New York has over 100 different schools that teach music. Some of them are located or have a branch in the Bronx. These institutions can be private or public and offer various study programs, such as bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs, as well as preparatory courses and summer schools. For example, there is the Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music and many others. One of them is the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music.
The Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music
Let’s discover more about the school. It appeared recently, namely in 2003. It is a higher music school with over 450 students. It was originally opened at the DeWitt Clinton High School. This is a school with ancient traditions, which was opened at the end of the 19th century. There were about 90 students at the start. The school had 4 classrooms, several offices, a room for teaching the choir, an orchestra and utility rooms. A year later, the school moved to the top floor of the Walton Campus building, where it received half of the space on this floor.
During the first year, students of the school performed at events attended by officials, city concerts, the Lincoln Center and CitiGroup jazz festivals. They also gave summer and winter concerts at the Lovinger Theater at College du Leman.
On August 21, something unusual happened because the mayor of New York announced that the Bronx High School received a new name and from now on it will be called the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music.
Who is Celia Cruz?
Let’s start with the fact that Celia Cruz’s full name is Ursula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso. She was born in 1925 in Cuba. There she became famous because she sang in the guaracha style. This is a Cuban song-dance of Spanish origin, which is common among the population of the Caribbean and is performed by a soloist and a choir. For this, she received the nickname La Guarachera de Cuba. That was only the start. Over the following decades, she became known as the Queen of Salsa” She also sang Afro-Cuban music, rumba, afro, son, bolero and recorded it in the Seeco Records company. This continued until 1959 when the Cuban Revolution ended. Therefore, Cruz left the country in 1960. The entire music industry was nationalized and she did not want to become a public servant. She was forced to emigrate first to Mexico and then to the United States and became a symbol of the Cuban community in exile. In total, she released 37 studio albums. There were many concert and joint albums. She was awarded two Grammys and three Latin Grammys. She also starred in films and gained popularity thanks to her masterful performance of salsa dancing.
Celia Cruz died on July 16, 2003. She was buried in the Celia Cruz Mausoleum at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx.
Her memory was honored in different ways. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an asteroid was named after her. Her wax figure is presented in the Hollywood Museum and there is a star on Boulevard Amador Bendayan in Caracas. There were also many awards, scientific titles, stamps, monuments and serials in her honor. One of the major steps taken to commemorate her was the renaming of a school in the Bronx.
The School today
Nowadays the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music is a successful educational institution. The school ranks 506 in the city among 542 secondary schools. It is in 5825th place in the general state ranking. The ranking is influenced by exam results, the number of graduates and the number of applicants.
The school has 450 students compared to 90 in the first year. There is serious competition for admission. In recent years, 90% of students were enrolled with high points obtained in a regular school. This is a significant indicator for the city. After all, in New York, only 38.4% of high school students are considered college or career ready. This means that the school has a relatively high rating and is popular. The majority of students, namely 98%, are representatives of national minorities, Latin Americans and Africans. In addition, 87% of students are from families that are considered economically disadvantaged. There are also more women than men, namely 62% women and 38% men.
The school was recognized as a Best High School by US News & World Report, receiving a silver rating. The school also partners with Exploring the Arts, a school created by Tony Bennett. Therefore, it has the opportunity to improve the quality of its teaching, receive scholarships and give its students the opportunity to work with the best teachers. Thanks to the partnership at the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music, they even began to teach such a discipline as the physics of music. Can you imagine it? It must be incredibly interesting.
What do they teach at school?
The school teaches choral singing, brass band, chamber, symphonic, jazz and Latin American orchestras, vocal singing and playing different kinds of instruments. There are also many professional teachers here, from whom there is much to learn.
Therefore, if you live in the Bronx and plan to devote your life to music, the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music is a great opportunity to become a professional. Do you remember the 2014 musical drama Whiplash? Maybe you will become just as cool after studying at this school. Even if not, you will get interesting experience and the opportunity to get a good job.