MILAGROS [MILI] PORTA (1918-1971): PEDAGOGA MUSICAL CORUÑESA ADELANTADA A SU ÉPOCA

Abstract

Milagros (Mili) Porta Siso (1918-1971) was a woman ahead of her time in all the facets of her short but intense musical life. From her beginnings in A Coruña she was versatile, covering almost all fields of music. She began as a member of various choirs, later becoming a pianist accompanying lyric singers, and in 1934, when she was only sixteen years old, she became the leader of a professional symphony orchestra. Although she died at the age of 53, she became a professor of music theory at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid and a very active figure in the Galician community in the capital, where she directed the choir Anaquiños d'a Terra of the Galician Centro Gallego de Madrid. She also worked as a music critic for La Voz de Galicia, a member of the jury in musical competitions for the recently created TVE, a participant in RNE's South American broadcasts, a creator of musical pedagogy methods and a composer. All this work was recognised in numerous tributes and with the award in 1952 of Gran Cruz de Alfonso X El Sabio.