Socrates Garcia
Instructor of Music
Music Theory
Director of Music Technology
Frasier 89
970-351-1356
Socrates Garcia is a composer, arranger, producer, recording engineer, guitarist, and educator from the Dominican Republic. He is the Interim Director of Music Technology at UNC, where he teaches courses in music theory and music technology, and oversees the recording studio, keyboard lab and computer music lab. Garcia's credits include the album Yo Pour Ti by Puerto Rican artist Olga Tañon, Grammy Award winner of Merengue Album of the Year 2001; musical director/keyboardist for Los Ilegales in their 1997-1998 Latin American tour; keyboardist for multi-Grammy winner Juan Luis Guerra; and guest performer with the Dominican Republic's National Symphony Orchestra, among others.
As a guitarist or keyboardist, Socrates has performed in many Latin-American countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Aruba, and throughout the Dominican Republic. As an arranger/producer and recording engineer his work is found on more than 30 albums and a myriad of projects.
Garcia's first solo album, Sueños (Dreams)—a fusion of rock, jazz, and Latin styles—features an all-star group of Dominican musicians such as Peter Nova, David Almengod, Leo Pimentel, and Sandy Gabriel.
Garcia has studied composition with Dick Grove, Jamey Simmons, David Caffey, Fred Sturm, and Paul Elwood. He served as Adjunct Professor of Music at Middle Tennessee State University and taught Jazz Harmony and Theory at the Santo Domingo Conservatory of Music between 1999 and 2004.
In the United States, Garcia's music has been performed by the Nashville Jazz Orchestra, Colorado Jazz Orchestra, MTSU's Jazz Ensembles, UNC Jazz Lab Band I, Luther College Jazz Orchestra, and the Celebration Iowa Jazz Band 2005.