The Amadeo Roldán Music Conservatory (Rastro No. 1, Centro Habana, Havana City) was established in 1903 under the name “Dr. Juan Ramón O’Farril” Music Academy. It spanned several streets in Havana (Zanja, Escobar, Reina, Virtudes, Morro, and San Lázaro).
Since its foundation, the conservatory has been directed by great Cuban musicians and pedagogues such as: Guillermo Tomás (1911), Gonzalo Roig (1927), Amadeo Roldán (1936) and Diego Bonilla (1938).
In 1943, its new and permanent location was opened at Rastro Street No. 1, in the busiest part of Havana, but this time as the Municipal Conservatory of Music of Havana, a title it had acquired since 1935. Chairs of Harmony, Composition, History of Music and Aesthetics were created, and the study plans and programs of some subjects were expanded, all of which contributed to a higher level to the center.
The school orchestra and choir were created in 1945 and were led by teachers Harold Gramatges and Serafín Pro, respectively.
The Municipal Conservatory of Music of Havana was the most prestigious and professional institution of its kind in Cuba until 1962, when the Music School of the National School of Arts (ENA) was founded.

The center’s Choral Singing School was established around 1963, directed by Manuel Ochoa, and produced young conductors within the Cuban musical scene, such as Carmen Collado, Digna Guerra, and Guido López Gavilán.

We can mention countless prominent figures in Cuban music, experienced educators who have passed through, and others who are still part of the teaching staff of this legendary institution, who have offered their knowledge to the new generations of Cuban musicians, in addition to raising the level and prestige of our music such as: José Ardévol, Harold Gramatges, Edgardo Martín, Margot Rojas, Serafín Pro, Digna Guerra, Teresita Junco, Guido López Gavilán, Manuel Suárez, Carmen Collado, Teresa Pentón, Nidia Fournier, Fernando Bencomo, Luis Aragú, Roberto Concepción, among many others.
The Amadeo Roldán Music Conservatory prepares students for the Intermediate Level, a four-year program.
The Municipal Conservatory of Havana or Amadeo Roldán Conservatory (Rastro No. 1, Centro Habana, Havana City), since its founding a century ago, has left an unbreakable mark on music education, contributing to the glorification of this type of instruction in the Cuban archipelago, training significant composers, performers, theorists and pedagogues, who place the name of Cuban music at the top of universal events.