About
Soto Academy of Music offers music classes where children sing, listen to music, and prepare for future music study on instruments. The program includes choirs, music therapy programs, musical theatre programs, specialized applied music lessons, and access to a sound recording studio. Students also take part in community performances, community music classes, after school music community programs, and attend flamenco and classical guitar concerts.
• Ages: 2–18 years old
Soto Academy of Music is a music studio for children and is used as a teaching lab in preparation for education careers. The academy is under the direction of Gilberto D. Soto, Ph.D., who is Professor of Music Education/Guitar at Texas A&M International University, supervises the guitar and bass studios, and directs the TAMIU Guitar Ensemble. Dr. Soto is a National Music Author for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Hal Leonard Music Corporation, the author or co-author of several bilingual and national music and reading series, and has written for Music Express and reviewed elementary music education textbooks. He holds a BA in Education from Universidad Autonoma del Noreste, a BA in Music from Abilene Christian University, and an M.M. and Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Southern Mississippi, and has received many awards for his contributions to bilingual music education, higher education teaching, and guitar performance.
Soto Academy of Music received approval as a Limited Liability Corporation in the summer of 2006. In two years, it grew from five to nineteen specialized music instructors and four staff assistants, and student enrollment increased from 34 in the 2006 summer session to 298 in the 2008 fall session. During this period, it became the fastest growing and largest music academy in Laredo, Texas, and set a goal to double its square footage by the end of 2008 and expand classroom sizes and private music units.
The academy’s mission is to increase awareness of the music potential and talent that is innate within every child at birth and to encourage the support and growth of these talents. Its music philosophy is designed for the special needs of a culturally diverse population and is based on cognitive, aesthetic, and psychomotor music education experiences. The approach combines mastery of an instrument with music pedagogy strategies, and the academy states that through the study of music, children’s character and ability to learn are enriched, and children are inspired to share their musical and human talents with their families and communities. Soto Academy of Music also serves as a comprehensive in-training service for graduates and senior music major students from Texas A&M International University, and university students use the academy as a teaching lab in preparation for their education careers.
Soto Academy of Music was featured on the TLC Channel. Community involvement includes financial donations to private educational institutions such as Mary Help of Christian, United Day School, Blessed Sacrament School, and Lady of Guadalupe School. The academy provides community performances free of charge every semester, community music classes to schools with predominantly low income families such as Perez Elementary School, and visitation and performances to elderly homes, Sacred Heart Orphanage, hospitals, and community centers. It also hosts free after school music community programs in the colonias areas of Rio Bravo and El Cenizo.
Last updated January 31, 2026.
• Ages: 2–18 years old
Soto Academy of Music is a music studio for children and is used as a teaching lab in preparation for education careers. The academy is under the direction of Gilberto D. Soto, Ph.D., who is Professor of Music Education/Guitar at Texas A&M International University, supervises the guitar and bass studios, and directs the TAMIU Guitar Ensemble. Dr. Soto is a National Music Author for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Hal Leonard Music Corporation, the author or co-author of several bilingual and national music and reading series, and has written for Music Express and reviewed elementary music education textbooks. He holds a BA in Education from Universidad Autonoma del Noreste, a BA in Music from Abilene Christian University, and an M.M. and Ph.D. in Music Education from the University of Southern Mississippi, and has received many awards for his contributions to bilingual music education, higher education teaching, and guitar performance.
Soto Academy of Music received approval as a Limited Liability Corporation in the summer of 2006. In two years, it grew from five to nineteen specialized music instructors and four staff assistants, and student enrollment increased from 34 in the 2006 summer session to 298 in the 2008 fall session. During this period, it became the fastest growing and largest music academy in Laredo, Texas, and set a goal to double its square footage by the end of 2008 and expand classroom sizes and private music units.
The academy’s mission is to increase awareness of the music potential and talent that is innate within every child at birth and to encourage the support and growth of these talents. Its music philosophy is designed for the special needs of a culturally diverse population and is based on cognitive, aesthetic, and psychomotor music education experiences. The approach combines mastery of an instrument with music pedagogy strategies, and the academy states that through the study of music, children’s character and ability to learn are enriched, and children are inspired to share their musical and human talents with their families and communities. Soto Academy of Music also serves as a comprehensive in-training service for graduates and senior music major students from Texas A&M International University, and university students use the academy as a teaching lab in preparation for their education careers.
Soto Academy of Music was featured on the TLC Channel. Community involvement includes financial donations to private educational institutions such as Mary Help of Christian, United Day School, Blessed Sacrament School, and Lady of Guadalupe School. The academy provides community performances free of charge every semester, community music classes to schools with predominantly low income families such as Perez Elementary School, and visitation and performances to elderly homes, Sacred Heart Orphanage, hospitals, and community centers. It also hosts free after school music community programs in the colonias areas of Rio Bravo and El Cenizo.
Last updated January 31, 2026.
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