Brouwer studied for a short time at the Juilliard School under Vincent Persichetti and also at the Hartt College of Music. He served as a music assistant for Radio Havana and as professor of composition at the Havana Conservatory. He has received a government stipend since 1961 for his musical work. Brouwer's early compositions are nationalist and he has concerned himself with the issue of being an artist in a revolutionary society. He has turned to avant-garde techniques since 1962, in works such as his Sonata pian'e forte (1970) for piano and tape. ~ Lynn Vought, Rovi