Welcome

Welcome to the premier site for the Latin American art song. We assist teachers and students of singing who are trying to access the published repertoire and provide them with tools to teach and perform it. Enjoy your visit and feel free to contact us.

GET STARTED

Online community. LAASA has its own Facebook group, where anyone can ask questions, share information, and announce upcoming performances. Join our Facebook group…

Recordings and sheet music. Check out the latest offerings in the LAASA Shop. Find CDs, scores, digital downloads, and more…

Get involved. Join our effort to promote art song from all 41 Latin American countries. Become a LAASA member today…

PERFORM

Whether you are a singer, a voice teacher, collaborative pianist, or a student of Spanish, French or Portuguese, our intention is to make the songs of Latin America as easily accessible as possible. We aim to facilitate, encourage, and support frequent and quality performances of this repertoire in public, so that music listeners everywhere can enjoy what Latin American composers have been offering for centuries.

How to help:

  • Perform a set of songs by a Latin American composer in your next recital
  • Teach a student a piece of Latin American music
  • Join with LAASA members in your city to organize a concert dedicated to Latin American composers
  • Inform LAASA of recitals, events, or performances that include Latin American composers
  • Post a copy of your recital program of Latin American art song on the LAASA Facebook group
  • Purchase scores and recordings at the LAASA Shop

RECORD

It is now more important than ever that professional singers record Latin American art song and distribute their recordings through regular commercial channels. Most musicians and scholars will not feel connected to this genre or interested in its historical and music value unless they can hear it – lots of it – sung by many different singers and interpreted in many different ways.

How to help:

  • Advise LAASA of professional singers who would like to branch out into a new repertoire and include some of these songs in a new album or concert tour
  • Help potential recording artists secure grant money for recording projects
  • Pick a composer and record a quality compact disc that is both internationally marketable and musically exquisite
  • Consider recording an anthology of songs appropriate for beginning singers
  • Share with LAASA your discovery of recordings (both historic and new) that include Latin American art song
  • Volunteer or discount recording time at a local studio so that singers can more easily record and distribute this repertoire.
  • Share recordings of your recitals on the LAASA Facebook group so others can enjoy .mp3 versions of the songs for educational purposes
  • Encourage studios, engineers, professional singers, and arts organizations to feature Latin American art song as part of their community outreach programs
  • Enjoy your own recordings of Latin American art song frequently!
  • Purchase recordings from the LAASA Shop

 PUBLISH

Locating Latin American art song can be a challenge. Published scores are hard to find and many have been out of print for decades. Frequently, the only option left to the serious researcher is to travel to Latin American countries and find these pieces in public and private collections. Several LAASA Members have glowing collections of songs collected from years of such research, but the majority of these titles are presently unavailable for purchase.

LAASA wants to fundamentally change this difficult sitution by legally editing and distributing Latin American art song through print and digital means.

1. LAASA works with existing music publishers throughout the world who own the rights to Latin American art songs. Publishers who do not have the time to promote their entire catalog find it refreshing to see that at least some of their niche-market holdings are circulated through the global marketplace. Digital publication has been shown to not only prepare the market for future sales of traditional print volumes, but also to augment sales of their printed equivalents. The LAASA Shop currently offers one print anthology of Latin American art song by Kathleen Wilson.

2. LAASA works with living Latin American composers to publish and distribute their songs for voice and piano via the LAASA Bandcamp Site.

Music publishers and composers interested in a non-exclusive agreement to make Latin American songs available to the global marketplace should contact allison@laasa.org for more information.

 PROMOTE

Whether you sing or not, there are many ways to promote Latin American Art Song and increase an awareness of Latin America’s rich cultural offerings. LAASA has begun by designing the this website and collecting resources that will help members better understand and appreciate Latin American song. Your resources, connections, suggestions and membership will help LAASA become a strong arts organization that will make a difference for musicians, historians, and music appreciators worldwide.

How to help:

  • Encourage your local classical radio station to play Latin American classical music and art song
  • Browse the Internet and local library shelves for information on Latin American composers
  • Share on the LAASA Facebook Group your music discoveries and the songs that you have enjoyed performing
  • Help LAASA build a comprehensive bibliography by sharing titles of reference books, articles and other materials that mention Latin American Art Song.
  • Write an article on art song in a Latin American country
  • Become a LAASA Member and help us amass enough capital to begin publishing out-of-print art song
  • Volunteer your time to help LAASA fulfill its mission
  • Purchase recordings, books, scores and more at the LAASA Shop