José López -Ramos, a Passionate Musician
To touch the deepest emotions of the audience is what high school band director José López -Ramos inspires, with effort and dedication, in his students at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.
López was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. His family worked in a sugarcane plantation in Cabo Rojo, and some of his relatives were also soldiers and musicians by vocation. “My father taught me to play the trombone. My relatives, especially my great-grandfather, made his stringed instruments from goat gut and played by ear. My great-grandparents’ youngest son learned to read music on his own and played the tuba, bass, and piano. That great-uncle, José Manuel López, taught my father to read music and was a trombonist for 10 years until he joined the army. I am a fourth-generation musician; and a third generation soldier in the US Army,” said López. José always dreamed of being a musician and teacher. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Puerto Rico. He served 11.5 years as a musician in the Army bands. “I arrived in Alaska in 2011 as an Army musician. I was the first trombonist in the Alaska Band until 2017, and I also played tuba and euphonium. I worked at various military bases until I decided to seek employment in schools. I have worked in Fairbanks, Wasilla, and now in Anchorage. The peaceful life that Alaska offers and the opportunities for my family made us settle here.” When talking about his teaching method, he says, “I impart to the students the discipline I learned in the army—I’m not that strict—because I treat them with affection, and everywhere I’ve been, they say, ‘That band sounds so beautiful, maestro.’ I teach all kinds of music, from military marches, pasodobles (ballroom music) to Latin American boleros. I learned this from my teacher, Virgen Alvarado, in Cabo Rojo.” He notes that he tells his students, “Music is like sports and cooking. If you play basketball, you must shoot 500 shots a day; the same in music; you have to practice a lot. In music, you have dynamics; when you play softly or loudly, you create a sense of emotion in the audience, just like the seasoning in food. Well-played music makes you cry, and that’s why you add a little salt and pepper.” Last year, the Anchorage Museum celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with Nuestra Huella, an exhibition that highlights the footprint of the Latino community in Alaska, and Maestro López’s band played paso dobles, boleros, and Jazz Band Tito Puente-style to the almost 2000 people that attended the event. “It makes my hair stand on end when I hear my Bartlett School band play Latin American music in Anchorage.” José has been married to Jacqueline Rosa for 23 years. She is a Spanish teacher, and they have two children. Ruben is a third-generation trombonist studying to become a music teacher by vocation at the Puerto Rico Conservatory, and Esteban, who plays the trumpet and violin, and hopes to be a counseling psychologist. |