1922, García left the Hambourg Conservatory and joined the Toronto Conservatory of Music (Royal Conservatory of Music), where he remained until his death in Toronto in 1959, having established himself as one of Canada's preeminent music teachers. García was known to be quiet and focused. His near self-effacement instead gave rise to the most prominent Canadian musicians of the late 20th century. He had a decisive technical and aesthetic influence on Glenn Gould, whom he mentored for 10 years, even though Gould would later claim to be self-taught. García was also known for his keen intellect and eloquence vis-à-vis painting, poetry, and philosophy (Comte, Husserl, Sartre). "He was one of the few musicians from whom a student would get a vista of ideas beyond music," recalls composer R. Murray Schafer, who composed In Memoriam Alberto Guerrero a few months after his teacher's death. Compositions García had been known as a versatile composer in Santiago. In addition to a number of chamber works and piano solos, he wrote music for 4 or 5 operettas and zarzuelas (now lost) which were produced in Chile between 1908 and 1915. However, after moving to Canada, García focused more on teaching, though a couple of piano works (Tango and Southern Seas) were published in 1937. He also collaborated with his wife Myrtle Rose Guerrero to co-author The New Approach to the Piano (2 vols., 1935–36). Students As a prominent member of the music circles in Santiago and later at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, García influenced generations of students who would go on to shape the musical life of Chile, Canada, and beyond. What follows is an incomplete list: William Aide John Beckwith Joan Bell Helmut Blume Gwendoly Duchemin Ray Dudley Jeanette Fujarczuk Dorothy Sandler Glick Glenn Gould Myrtle Rose Guerrero (2nd wife) Stuart Hamilton Paul Helmer Horace Lapp Edward Laufer8 Patricio Pizarro Gordana Lazarevich Pierrette LePage Jean Lyons Edward Magee Ursula Malkin Bruce Mather John McIntyre Gordon McLean Gerald Moore Oscar Morawetz Laurence Morton Arthur Ozolins George Ross Domingo Santa Cruz Wilson R. Murray Schafer Oleg Telizyn Malcolm Troup Neil Van Allen Ruth Watson Henderson Grace Irene Hunt McDonald Gayle Sharlene Brown Recordings Glenn Gould: His First Recordings (1947–1952). Video Artists International 1198 (2001). Notes Bibliography The only book-length biography of Guerrero. Archive collection An archive collection of Guerrero's manuscripts and papers is located at the University of Toronto Music Library. External links Encyclopedia