Juan Morel Campos

Juan Morel Campos (16 May 1857 – 12 May 1896), sometimes erroneously spelled Juan Morell Campos, was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over 550 musical works before he died unexpectedly at age 38. Early years Morel Campos (full name: Juan Nepomuceno Morel Campos ) was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Manuel Morel Araujo, from the Dominican Republic, and Juana de Dios Campos Collazo, from Venezuela. He began to study music at the young age of eight in his hometown under the guidance of Antonio Egipciaco. Morel Campos was a student of Puerto Rican composer and pianist Gonzalo de J. Núñez (1850 - 1915 ), whose students also included the internationally known musicians and composers Manuel Gregorio Tavárez and Arístides Chavier Arévalo. Morel Campos learned to play practically every brass instrument and eventually became one of the founders and directors of the “Ponce Firemen’s Band” (La Banda de Bomberos del Parque de Bombas de Ponce). The legendary band was later renamed the Ponce Municipal Band. First composition Later, Morel Campos became a student of the composer Manuel Gregorio Tavárez, “The