Rubén Colón Tarrats

Rubén Colón Tarrats
Rubén Colón Tarrats directing the Banda Municipal de Ponce
Background information
Birth nameRubén Colón
Born9 March 1940
New York, New York
OriginPonce, Puerto Rico
GenresDanzas, plenas, valls, polkas, boleros and danzones
Occupation(s)Clarinetist, composer, band director
Years active1965-2013

Rubén Colón Tarrats (b. 1940) is a Puerto Rican composer, clarinet player and band director from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He also conducted the Banda Municipal de Ponce for ten years. He received his music training at Escuela Libre de Música de Ponce, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, and Temple University College of Music, and was a music professor at Ponce High School, Instituto de Musica Juan Morel Campos, and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Puerto Rico.

During a music career that spanned half a century, he directed over a dozen choirs, composed over 200 works of music, founded music institutes and music festivals, directed numerous orchestras, presented concerts spanning the Western Hemisphere, and was president of the Puerto Rican Association of Choir Directors. Upon his retirement from active music life, he was honored by many artists, educators, and politicians, and was also honored by the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and the Ponce Municipal Government.