Dr. José Luis Puerta, DMA
Associate Professor of Practice
The University of Arizona, School of Music

José Luis Puerta received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in guitar with a minor in Ethnomusicology from the University of Arizona, a Master of Music, and a Bachelor's degree in guitar performance from the Conservatory of Music in Puerto Rico. He also graduated from the prestigious Escuela Libre de Música Ernesto Ramos Antonini in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

As an ethnomusicologist, Jose Luis has emphasized Latin American music, focusing on plucked string ensembles such as the rondallas, trios, and guitar quartets and their use as a pedagogical tool. He has presented his research at the Ciclo Sonoro in Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana in Foz do Iguaçu, Brasil; Osher Lifelong Learning Institute; the Fourth International Symposium on Latin American Music in Tucson, USA; and the Society for Ethnomusicology Southwest Chapter in Flagstaff, USA. He collaborated at the Society for Ethnomusicology's 61st Annual Meeting as session chair in Washington, D.C. He has contributed two entries for the Sage International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture (2019),” Reguetón” and “Lute Chordophones.” He also contributed guitar arrangements for the textbook The Course of Mexican Music, Routledge.

As a guitarist, he has performed in Puerto Rico, the Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado in Mexico, Canada, Spain, and throughout the United States. He’s been featured in the University of Arizona Alumni Magazine (Spring 2016), Acoustic Guitar (Fall 2017), and in Tucson Guitar Orchestra Strings Along, for Arizona Public Media. He has been invited to perform for the Treasure Coast Guitar Society and the Sundays in the Garden concert series at Tohono Chul Park on numerous occasions as a duo, ensemble, and conductor. He is a founding member of  Grupo Riken, a Tucson ensemble specializing in folkloric music from the Caribbean and Latin America. Their repertoire includes genres like the Cuban bolero, Puerto Rican jibaro music, Latin jazz, and bossa nova. The group's unique sounds come from folk instruments like the Puerto Rican cuatro, guitar, Peruvian Cajon, Afro-Caribbean percussion bongos, and congas, accompanied by the guitar.

In addition to his teaching, José Luis is currently the conductor and director of the Tucson Guitar Society Orchestra. The TGSO has performed throughout the state in Green Valley, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, and at the Phoenix Regional Symposium for the Guitar Foundation of America. José Luis has been an active board member of the Tucson Guitar Society since 2010.

In 2019, He founded the Tucson Guitar Quartet. In Spring 2020, they released the Latin American Soundscapes album, including. two performances and a recording of world premieres. An American in Bahia by Sergio Assad and Costa-Tucson by Edwin Guevara. The group focuses on Latin American Music and contemporary music.