Ninón Lapeiretta de Brouwer

Early life She was born Ninón Lapeiretta Pichardo in Santo Domingo, daughter of Natalia Pichardo Gómez and Alesandro Lepeiretta, an immigrant from France. As a child she studied piano.

Career Her earliest works were more traditional canciones, criollas, and dances. In 1940 she began to study under Enrique Casal Chapí, the director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional (OSN) in the Dominican Republic. Lapeiretta de Brouwer continued to compose pieces, expanding to ballets and works for orchestras and ensembles. As director, Casal Chapí often championed native composers and performed their works with the symphony, and Lapeiretta de Brouwer earned exposure both in the Dominican Republic and abroad.

The OSN under Casal Chapí premiered Lapeiretta de Brouwer's work Dos Caprichos for wind ensemble in 1942, as well as her orchestral piece Abominación de la espera in 1943 with soloist soprano Dora Merten. In 1944, her string quartet piece Suite Arcaica was performed at a BBC concert in London

Lapeiretta de Brouwer also composed several ballet scores including La reina del Caribe (The Queen of the Caribbean).

Organizations In 1941, Lapeiretta de Brouwer founded the Círculo de Bella Artes. In 1953 she founded the Sociedad Pro Arte, which worked to bring international performers to the Dominican Republic.

Legacy Lapeiretta de Brouwer died in Santo Domingo on September 29, 1989.

The Orquesta Ars Nova in Santiago dedicated their full 2004 concert season to her memory, praising her as an important, but often forgotten, part of classical music in the Dominican Republic.

Works Abominación de la Espera (1941), for soprano and orchestra Pastoral (1941), chamber orchestra Obertura Jocosa, symphony orchestra Dos Caprichos (1942), wind ensemble Suite Arcaica (1941), string quartet La Reina del Caribe, ballet score