Julio Fonseca

Julio Fonseca (1881–1950) was a Costa Rican composer and conductor.

Early life and education Julio Fonseca was born in San José, Costa Rica on May 22, 1881. His primary and secondary education was obtained at the Seminary School in San Jose. He studied for his bachelors at the Lyceum of Costa Rica.

He began to study music from an early age at the National School of Music, and later at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He created his first compositions in 1897 - 1902 while under the tutelage of important musicians such as José Joaquín Vargas Calvo and Alvise Castegnaro. He was also part of the faculty of the Escuela de Música Santa Cecilia, where he occasionally assumed the duties of the Director of the Institution (J. J. Vargas Calvo) during the director's absences. In 1934, Fonseca founded the la Academia Euterpe with his son Jimmy and violinist Raúl Cabezas. The academy was only in operation for a few years. It primarily focused on teaching violin and piano, but also had a choir and an orchestra.

Fonseca was an instructor at the Colegio de Señoritas where he was a professor of music from 1927 to 1942. Finally, Fonseca was a founding professor at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música, in 1942. This institution later transformed into the School of Music Arts of the University of Costa Rica. a musical institution for whom he composed and released some of his work. He was also a music critic and journalist, writing for the newspaper La Justicia Social in the early part of the 20th century, and later for the magazine El Maestro and for la Revista Musical with three articles published in 1940, 1941, 1944. to search for a national identify in the field of music. In 1929, the government decided to send three musicians, Roberto Cantillano, José Daniel Zúñiga and Julio Fonseca, to Guanacaste where they would compile, harmonize, and edit a compilation of folklore, El Folleto de Música Folclórica Nacional. Three editions of the work were published in 1929, 1934, and 1935.

Last years The last years of Julio Fonseca were full of emotional contrasts. The death of his wife Maria Elena in 1948 caused health problems for him. His son Julio Jr was ordained and priest. He wrote more important works such as the mass, Vitis et Palmites and the waltz, María Elena. In the months before his death, he visited his sons, Jimmy and Harold. During this trip, a tribute concert was arranged by the Pan American Union that included an opportunity for him to conduct the orchestra. Julio Fonseca died in San José on June 22, 1950.