twenty in the group. Throughout the year this chorus, which is maintained by the Government, gives concerts in schools and communities in various parts of Mexico. Through its performances under excellent direction. and its well-planned programs, the chorus gives many Mexican communities and thousands of school children an opportunity to hear good choral music. The School of Sacred Music of the Archdiocese of Morelia, Mexico, with an enrollment of about eighty, is an outstanding example of a contribution to the music life of a community through church music. All the students are carefully chosen and during fifteen or so years of the most intensive kind of study they provide music in churches throughout the Republic. On the completion of their course, these trained musicians are assigned to church music positions in various parts of Mexico. Naturally, the contribution of this school to the community music life of Morelia and nearby towns is especially significant. The Habana Chorus is another organization which is making a major contribution to community. life. Composed of some fifty to sixty men. and women under one of the ablest of choral conductors, this organization works in cooperation with the Director of Cultural Rela

tions in the Ministry of Education. Its concerts are extremely popular in Habana. In Viña del Mar, Chile, there is a community chorus which sings in Spanish, French, German and English, and its programs are exceedingly popular in Viña del Mar and Valparaíso.

The community programs of the Orfeón Lamas in Caracas and also of the Polyphonic Chorus of Venezuela are warmly received. The Workers' Chorus and Workers' Band of Caracas do work that is especially noteworthy in that their members had no training in music before joining the organizations. The University of Puerto Rico Choir is one of the most active of the community's organizations.

The Society of Patrons of Music, an interesting community music organization, has in recent years been responsible for the Salvadorean Symphony Orchestra. In Habana, the Society of Patrons of Music guides the destinies of the Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Cathedral Chorus performs under the auspices of the Concert Society. The National Symphony in Caracas has also had community sponsorship and support. In San José, Costa Rica, the National Opera Association finances and manages the opera pro

ductions each year. All the talent in these productions is strictly non-professional, it should be noted, thus making the project a real community enterprise. Two other organizations in San José are in effect community groups-the Musical Culture Association, which brings visiting artists to the community, and the National Symphony, which has been in existence for two years. Although the symphony is under Government sponsorship, it is also supported by generous contributions of some civic-minded residents. With the exception of the orchestras mentioned, all of the symphony orchestras in the Latin American Republics receive their support and sponsorship directly from their governments, a situation which does not prevail in the United States.

In general, instrumental music groups among non-professionals and in schools are not well developed in Latin America. The work of one notable exception is therefore of particular interest. The Secondary and Normal School Band in the Normal School for Boys, a public school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was the only one of its kind encountered by the writer during the six

months' trip. This band is an excellent example of good music education and an equally good example of a school music group that has become a part of the community life. The thirty-five to forty boys of the band, in their smart uniforms, participate in programs celebrating their own national holidays and Pan American Day, give Sunday concerts in the plaza, or a special concert, perhaps in honor of the birthday of the President of the United States. It is hoped that other groups will develop in the Latin American Republics similar to the one in Tegucigalpa.

The National Music Council in Lima is an active community music organization appointed by the President of the Republic. It plans and supervises all music activities and is at the present time giving serious consideration to the music education program in the public schools.

The national, military, and police bands in the Latin American Republics are among the most important of all organizations contributing to community music life, because they reach so many people. In each of the fourteen Republics visited, the writer found

that such bands are active, not only in the capital cities but also in the states, departments, or provinces. Every Sunday morning and once or twice during the week, large and enthusiastic audiences gather in practically every city and even in the villages to listen to concerts by these bands. In addition to presenting regular public concerts and performing at official gatherings, some of the bands collaborate closely with the schools by giving concerts for the pupils. In this connection, mention should be made of the very fine National Band in Bogotá, which gives concerts for school children not only in the capital but also in other parts of the country.

Contact was made insofar as possible with the directors of all the leading bands in the countries visited, and in every instance the director was eager to cooperate in the development of instrumental music in the schools.

The Military School of Music in San José, Costa Rica, is a particularly well-organized band school. Another exceptionally fine school which offers instrumental instruction for groups of students is the Army School of Music in Santiago, Chile. This school is under the close personal supervision of the Director of the Army Bands in Chile, and has the enthusiastic support of the General of the Chilean Army and his staff.

In the Dominican Republic, the Army Band of 88 pieces plays under a capable leader who is actually carrying on music education within his own group by giving instruction to many members of the band. Another very popular and active organization in the Dominican Republic is the District Band, which also carries on a teaching program. In time, and with the development of instrumental music instruction in the schools of the Dominican Republic, these community music organizations will benefit by the expanded program of music education.

FOLK MUSIC.-The Republics have with

out exception a wealth of folk music which is well known to the great masses of the people, including boys and girls in the schools, and therefore offers a natural approach to the more formal aspects of music education. Folk music is being collected in many of the Republics at present with a view to its compilation for use in the schools.

In Mexico, much attention is given to folk music in the schools, and in Nicaragua an interesting volume of folk music has recently been published by the Ministry of Education. Panama, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Haiti are all taking steps through their Ministries of Education to use more of their own folk music as the basis of their music education programs. Special mention should be made of the emphasis placed on folk music in the schools of the Republic of Panama. Venezuela is intelligently promoting the use of its own folk music. Many workers 'and students' choruses are being developed in Caracas, and folk music is being used almost entirely as their basic repertories.

THE RADIO.-Radio has not been used to any great degree in music education in any of the American Republics visited, nor in the United States, but in the post-war period much more use will undoubtedly be made of this important instrumentality. The writer observed, however, in some of the countries visited, facilities as well as interest in radio as a means of furthering music education. Radio Chilena in Santiago de Chile, an independent station, gives only cultural programs with emphasis on music. The Extension Department of the Ministry of Education of Venezuela cooperates with two stations, Radio Caracas and Ondas Populares, in presenting cultural programs. Special mention should be made of Radio Nacional in Bogotá, maintained and supervised by the Ministry of Education, which broadcasts only news and cultural programs. This station has an exceptionally fine collection of records and also maintains a studio orchestra. Its director has in mind the development of a comprehensive plan for reaching the very

smallest Colombian villages through individual receiving sets if possible, or through loud speakers to be set up in the public

squares.

In the Dominican Republic the radio devotes considerable time to music programs, including the presentation of the National Symphony Orchestra, the Army Band, and the District Band. Music appreciation hours, including lectures illustrated with records, are broadcast twice a week.

THE PRESS. No account of the status of music and music education in the Latin American Republics would be complete without reference to the press. In the opinion of the writer, music in the Latin American Republics is in a particularly fortunate position with respect to press support and cooperation. In the fourteen Republics visited and in Puerto Rico, the newspapers were scanned each day; with few exceptions hardly a day passed that the papers did not give considerable space to music, art, drama and literature. Not only was space devoted to these sub

jects in itself an indication of editorial policy but the subjects were intelligently covered.

Professional music education organizations

Because the professional organization of music education is probably the greatest single factor in the development of the music education profession in the United States, considerable time was spent in investigating this phase of music education in the Latin American Republics visited. In Mexico and Cuba professional music education organizations have been organized during the past few years the National Association of Teachers and Professors of Music of Mexico and, in Cuba, the National Association of Conservatories and Professors of Music and the more recently organized Grupo de Renovación Musical. In Chile, the Music Teachers' Center, including the elementary school music educators, was founded in 1944, and

a similar group including the secondary school music educators was organized later in the same year. Proper liaison between the two organizations has been arranged.

It is pertinent to emphasize here the value of disseminating information about music and music education among the Latin American Republics and between the United States and each of these Republics. It is natural as well as practicable for the Latin American Republics to interchange ideas among themselves and to adopt or adapt United States concepts as seems advisable. Therefore, every effort was made by the writer to give each of the Latin American Republics visited information concerning significant trends in the other Republics. Effective hemisphere integration and coordination of all activities in music and music education can be achieved to the extent that institutions and organizations and individuals maintain contact with each other.

Dr. Consuelo Bernardino

ON January 19, 1945 the Dominican Republic lost one of its prominent physicians, Dr. Consuelo Bernardino. Although only 32 years old, she had been a pioneer among Dominican women physicians and a leader in her profession. She was a member of a well known family and her loss is deeply mourned in government circles and in all classes of society. Her colleagues on the medical faculty of the University of Santo Domingo paid her a final tribute by acting as a guard of honor around her coffin.

Dr. Bernardino received her degree in

medicine from the University of Santo Domingo in October 1935, and immediately afterward went to the United States. In 1936 she won the scholarship which the American Association of University Women grants each year to a Latin American woman, and entered the Women's Medical College in Philadelphia to take courses in gynecology. From there she went to Johns Hopkins to study gynecology and pediatrics, on a scholarship granted by the government of the Dominican Republic, interning at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Bernardino had the privilege of studying under some of the