Fray Pedro de Gante Pioneer American Music Educator

Fray Pedro de Gante was an important figure in the history of American music education. His life and work in Mexico City predate similar activities in the United States by at least a century. He worked in a radically changing ethnic arld sociocultural environment and was a principal agent in the acculturation process. In teaching music he also became involved in the arts in general education, multicultural education, and student teaching. He was the first European to teach music in the Western hemisphere and taught thousands of students during his 45-year tenure. His school served as a model for later Franciscan schools in the southwestern United States. The documents show that he was not only successful by European standards, but that he was also highly respected and admired by the Indians he taught.