Violeta Hemsy de Gainza

Violeta Hemsy de Gainza (born 25 January 1929) is an Argentine pianist and piano pedagogue.

Violeta Hemsy de Gainza was born in Tucumán Province on 25 January 1929. She completed her undergraduate studies at the National University of Tucumán, where she graduated with a licentiate in music, piano specialty. In 1951 she obtained a scholarship to improve her skills at the Teacher's College at Columbia University in New York. She later studied in Paris with Gerda Alexander, creator of the concept of "eutony" (1976), and in Denmark (1982). She has written about 40 publications that have been translated into English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch, ranging from general music pedagogy, piano, and guitar teaching, to children's and youth vocal ensembles, as well as improvisation and music therapy. These are frequently cited in theses and research papers.

She served as president of the Latin American Forum of Musical Education (FLADEM) from its founding in 1995 until 2005. She was a board member of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) from 1986 to 1990. She has also been invited as a juror, teacher, and lecturer by universities, conservatories, musical and artistic centers, as well as international organizations such as the Organization of American States, UNESCO, and governments such as France, Germany, Spain's Ministry of Education, and Colombia's Ministry of Culture.

In 1989, Hemsy received the Konex Award diploma of merit for classical music.

She also ventured into the publishing field as director of the Pedagogical Library Musical Collection for the Guadalupe Publishing House, editor of the ISME yearbooks in Spanish, editor of the magazine of the Argentine Association of Music Therapy, and co-director of the Lumen Publishing Group's Body, Art, and Health Collection.

Hemsy has served as ISME's honorary president and coordinator of its Music Therapy Commission (1974–1986), and has taught at the Carlos López Buchardo National Conservatory and the Manuel de Falla Municipal Conservatory in Buenos Aires.

Her students include prominent musicians such as Andrés Calamaro, Claudio Gabis [es], Fito Páez, Ariel Rot, and Leo Sujatovich [es].

• Fundamentos, materiales y técnicas de la educación musical (1984), Editorial Ricordi Americana, ISBN 9789502202167.
• La iniciación musical del niño (1984), Editorial Ricordi Americana, ISBN 9789502202037.
• Método para piano (1984), Editorial Barry, ISBN 9789505400003.
• Música para niños compuesta por niños (1984), Editorial Guadalupe, ISBN 9789505000661.
• A jugar y cantar con el piano (1993), Editorial Guadalupe, ISBN 9789505001842.
• La educación musical frente al futuro (1993), Editorial Guadalupe, ISBN 9789505003037.
• La improvisación musical (1993), Editorial Ricordi Americana, ISBN 9789502202662.
• El cantar tiene sentido (1994), Editorial Ricordi Americana, ISBN 9789502202679.
• Aproximación a la eutonía, conversaciones con Gerda Alexander (1997), Editorial Paidós, ISBN 9789501244205.
• Claudio Gabis: sur, blues y educación musical (2000), Editorial Lumen, ISBN 9789870000242.
• En música in dependencia educación y crisis social (2007), Editorial Lumen, ISBN 9789870006893.
• Conversaciones con Gerda Alexander (2007), Editorial Lumen, ISBN 9789870006817.