Story via Arshia Simkin, The Underline, Orange County Arts Commission
It takes most people a long time to figure out what they want to do as their life’s work. But Rody J. Huertas was just seventeen when he found his calling. “I tried sports, I was bad at it. I tried many different things [but]…as soon as I started music, I realized how engaged I was, how motivated I was,” Huertas said. At seventeen, Huertas left his native Puerto Rico to travel the world as a musician. It was during his first musical tour in Montignac, France, that he felt the transcendent power of music: “I didn’t need to speak that language to connect with [the other musicians] in a meaningful way,” he said. “That first tour made me who I am.”
“Playing Gyl” | photo via Rody J. Huertas
Since that first musical tour, Huertas has played music all over the world, including in France, Spain, Egypt, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Perú. Now, Huertas lives in Chapel Hill and spreads his love of music to his students at the Frank Porter Graham Elementary school and through his performances as a trombonist around the Triangle. Huertas recalls his initial apprehension when moving to North Carolina—a friend warned him that he would have a hard time finding work as a trombonist and especially as a trombonist who played Latin music. But Huertas was heartened to find a rich musical community in North Carolina and to learn about Southern musical traditions such as bluegrass and jazz.
This past June, partially funded through an Orange County Art’s Commissions’ Arts Educator Grant, Huertas participated in “Orff Afrique,” an immersive musical teaching course that brought music educators from around the world to Dzodze, Ghana to learn about the vibrant musical traditions of West Africa. “Orff” is short for “Orff-Schulwerk”—a musical educational technique that places emphasis on play and student-led learning. After completing his level one certification in the Orff technique, Huertas recalls how enamored he was: “I was like, ‘oh wow,’ this is like dancing, doing musical theater, and playing music at the same time,” Huertas said. For Huertas, the Orff methodology, which allows children to pick up an instrument from day one, is empowering. He recalled his own hyperactivity as a child and how turning to music helped to calm him down.
Welcome Ceremony led by local chief in Dafornyami, Dzodze, Africa
For Huertas, one of the most memorable aspects of the Orff Afrique experience was engaging with the children at the Nunya Academy in Dzodze. “We went to the school and we just played with them and they taught us everything…the way to have fun there is singing and dancing,” Huertas said.
Huertas was also inspired by the resonances between Western African music and his own Puerto Rican background: “The connection between our roots, with the music, and the rhythm and movement” was there, he said. In recognizing this connection, Huertas emphasized the deep debt that is owed to African music. “Without African music, we wouldn’t have jazz, we wouldn’t have Latin music—all of those concepts came from there,” he said.
Nunya Academy
In the coming months, Huertas will be playing with various salsa orchestras and Latin fusion bands. In November, he will be presenting about Afro-Puerto Rican rhythms at the national American Orff-Schulwerk conference.
Huertas’ passion for music is palpable: a large smile spread across his face as he expressed what draws him to playing music. He said, “I see it like medicine…it keeps me alive.”
Learn more about Huertas’ music on his website at https://www.rjmusique.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rjmusique/
(story and photos via Orange County Arts Commission)
Chapelboro.com has partnered with the Orange County Arts Commission to bring more arts-focused content to our readers through columns written by local people about some of the fantastic things happening in our local arts scene! Since 1985, the OCAC has worked to to promote and strengthen the artistic and cultural development of Orange County, North Carolina.
