Artist Selection: Ruben Moreno

Wednesday, 21 September 2011 18:00

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“Music is the international language. You cannot deny the music. It blurs distinctions between people because it gives us something to identify with,” Moreno said.

In addition to his role as a musician, Moreno has focused on educating younger generations about the tradition of mariachi music and has a strong perspective on the power of music and culture. He has helped shape the mariachi curriculum at a few local high schools and has started and assisted more start-ups of mariachi programs and conferences than any other individual in the United States. He was also a graduate and co-founder of the University of Arizona's Mariachi Arizona in 1990, which first performed at the Music Educators National Conference from The UA's School of Music in 1992.

“Mariachi music specifically is very Mexican and it came from the Indian indigenous people before combining with the Spanish. It is very parallel to American Jazz music," he said.

While also taking on the role of director of the Tucson Mariachi Luz De Luna, Tucson's own Mariachi Institute, Moreno has another role in educating younger generations about music as well. He is the director of the Mentorship Program for the Tucson Musicians Museum, a program that helps aspiring young musicians get the best coaching from musicians with 25 or more years of experience.

“The value of music is too incredibly positive and powerful to let it go away. We have decided that we have to pass it on to the next generation through mentoring,” Moreno said.

This program is an essential component of the Tucson Musicians Museum’s mission to spread Tucson's unique musical heritage and culture.

“We give students life coaching and advice,” said Tucson Musicians Museum President, George Howard.

The program partners with public and charter schools, already established music-related organizations, and youth-oriented clubs and associations, and assists in the preservation of Tucson's sound by matching qualified professional musicians with qualified young musicians who might otherwise be unable to afford such guidance.

Moreno is passionate about his mentoring.

“You cannot play an instrument and learn to play it well without putting in the time. The best is to teach students to value the time they put in with their instrument. I tell my students, ‘it takes brilliance to learn from someone else’s mistakes.’ They don’t need to make the same mistakes I did,” he said.

The Tucson Musicians Museum’s goal is to recognize accomplished Tucson musicians, maintain a mentorship program for young, aspiring Tucson musicians and establish an emergency fund for local musicians in need. In addition to mariachi, the TMM focuses on jazz, blues, country, Latin, rock, classical, folk, fospel, Native American and many more musicians from many other genres.

“We have about 100 Musicians that are part of the Tucson Musicians Museum,” said Howard. The mentorship program matches up the students with members of TMM based on their desired genre.

The 5th Annual Tucson Musicians Museum Induction Ceremony and Fundraiser took place Sunday, Sept. 11. They raised money, recognized artists, and produced music. With about 300 attendees, the Induction Ceremony and Fundraiser was quite a success, according to Howard. As far as the TMM goes, “it’s a multi-purpose thing,” said Howard. “We don’t want the community to forget to recognize local artists, and the fundraiser, well that’s for the kids.”

Written by Kelsey Merkel You are reading Artist Selection: Ruben Moreno articles

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