photo caption: (left) Jack Delano photograph in interurban train station, San Juan, PR (right) supermarket newspaper advertisement
Jack Delano Biography (concise) Delano was born as Jacob Ovcharov in the Ukraine and moved, with his parents and younger brother, to the United States in 1923. He studied graphic arts, photography, music and solfeggio. Awarded an art scholarship for his talents, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where he studied illustration and continued his musical training. Delano was awarded the Kesson traveling fellowship which took him to Europe where he bought a camera and got interested in photography. He traveled to Puerto Rico in 1941 as a part of the Farm Security Administration documentary project. This trip had such a profound influence that he settled there permanently in 1946. With his wife Irene he worked in the Community Division of the Department of Public Education producing films including "Los Peloteros," a Puertorrican film about poor rural kids and their love for baseball. Jack Delano's musical compositions include works of every type: orchestral, ballet, chamber, choral and solo vocal. His vocal music often showcases Puertorrican poetry, especially the works of friend and collaborator Tomás Blanco. His score for the film "Desde las Nubes" demonstrates an early use of electronic technique. His works composed after he moved to Puerto Rico are notable for the use of folk material in a classical form. J.Galligan75GRAND/SUR
Santa Olaya, PR