Dagmar Teresita Junco Reyna

Teacher, pianist. Doctor of Arts Sciences. She had a successful artistic and pedagogical career at the national and international level. Founder and principal professor of the piano specialty at the Instituto Superior de Arte, she also presided over the National Piano Commission and was a member of the Scientific Methodological Council and professor at ISA and the Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán. She prepared dozens of students, who today rank among the most outstanding Cuban performers. Tireless promoter of high-quality participation by young people from the island in international competitions.

She inherited from her father, Juan Jorge Junco, creator of the Cuban clarinet school, an art that she managed to develop and transmit, not only to her children (Ilmar and Aldo López-Gavilán Junco), but also to each of her students, as she established a methodology that is the foundation of the Cuban piano school. United in life to Maestro Guido López-Gavilán Junco, this family brings prestige to the Cuban school and music in general.

Graduated in Piano and Choral Direction from the Conservatorio Amadeo Roldán in Havana in 1968 and from the Instituto Gnecin in Moscow in 1973. Teresita Junco studied at the Municipal Conservatory of Havana. She became a choral director, and sang, under the guidance of maestro Manuel Ochoa. She was a student of the best professors at the conservatory now called Amadeo Roldán; in Solfège, Harmony and Counterpoint, History of Music. She also studied singing with soprano Zoila Gálvez.

She possesses a very successful artistic and pedagogical career, both at the national and international level.

She performed in different countries in Europe and Latin America, such as Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, Santo Domingo, Ecuador, the United States and London. She stood out outstandingly in her performances at the Franz Liszt Hall in Budapest, Hungary, the Carlos Chávez Hall in Mexico and the Concert Hall of Karlovivary in Czechoslovakia.

In Cuba she performed as a soloist with all the symphony orchestras in the country. She conducted numerous programs for radio and television, as well as record recordings. Among the most recent is the CD Aires y Leyendas, from Abdala productions, as a duet with her son violinist Ilmar López-Gavilán, a phonogram awarded at the Cubadisco 2001 competition in the categories Opera Prima and Concertante Music. She conducted a tour of the United States promoting this CD in New York, New Jersey, Boston, Michigan and Los Angeles.

She accompanied instrumentalists and singers of various genres. She enjoyed popular music from Cuba and the world, and participated in chamber groups, and played percussion for several years in the National Symphony Orchestra. Likewise, she worked with prestigious Cuban and foreign directors.

Her repertoire comprised works from the most diverse periods and styles, with the premieres of works at the International Forum of New Music held in Mexico and at the Havana Festival dedicated to contemporary music sponsored by UNEAC being very significant.

She completed advanced studies in Czechoslovakia with professor Alexander Rauj and studies in History and Theory of Performance Art at the Chaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

In parallel with her work as a performer, she developed significant pedagogical work. Her students received countless awards and mentions in the main competitions held in Cuba as well as in important international competitions such as Citta di Marsala in Italy, María Canals in Spain, Gina Bacauer in the United States, Teresa Carreño in Venezuela, Clara María Cullel in Costa Rica, and the Iberoamerican and Cervantes competitions, held in Cuba. She was principal professor and founder of the Piano specialty at the Instituto Superior de Arte.

She was President of the National Piano Commission and of the Scientific Methodological Council, guiding fundamental principles of piano technique, developing plans and programs and other tasks related to piano teaching in Cuba. She received numerous awards for the papers presented at national scientific events.

She was a juror for national and international competitions.
She taught courses on the interpretation of Cuban music and international repertoire at the School of Music of UNAM in Mexico, at the School of Fine Arts and the Institute of Culture and Art of Santo Domingo, in Venezuela, the United States, London, as well as in Cuba.

She holds the Order of Pedagogical Merit, the status of Laureate of the Arts granted by the Instituto Superior de Arte, the Medal of Cuban Education, the Raúl Gómez García Distinction, the Medal for Cuban Culture, the Alejo Carpentier Order and the Amadeo Roldán diploma awarded by UNEAC.