Hector Morales
Art Form(s):Artist Statement
I believe in the transforming, healing, and empowering qualities of music. I experience it in my daily life, when I practice, perform, and teach. I strongly believe everyone should be able to benefit from it as well. In my practice as a teaching artist I try to provide students with different ways in which they can play and experience music directly, because music itself is the greatest teacher we can have.
Artist Bio
For the past 20 years, Peruvian drummer and percussionist Hector Morales has combined national and international performance with his work as a Teaching Artist in the Tri-State area. Mr. Morales is the author of The Afro-Peruvian Percussion Ensemble, an instructional book/DVD published by Sher Music Co., which was nominated in the Best Educational Book of 2014 category by Modern Drummer magazine. He has led professional development workshops at F2F and the N.J. Music Educators State Conference. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Artist of The Year Award by YANJEP (2014) and the Heritage Fellowship Award from the NJCA (2023). Morales has performed on international stages, such as Lincoln Center, the National Museum of Peru, the Society of Musicians and Composers of Chile, the Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal, and the Jerusalem Music Festival, among others.
