UE composers from Chile

Luis Saglie has garnered acclaim as a distinguished composer from international audiences, professional musicians, and critics alike. In addition to his composition work, he is an active conductor, pianist, and pedagogue.

October of 2024 saw the release of Luis Saglie’s 3 Piano Sonatas on the international record label, Da Vinci Classics, featuring the recording in Vienna, Austria by pianist Stefan Stroissnig. His recently completed Piano Concerto No.1 “The Kookaburra Concerto”, was commissioned by Vienna-based pianist Alexandra Silocea and conductor Alejandra Urrutia. Its World Premiere is scheduled with two performances on June 6 and 7 of 2025 along with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santiago in Chile’s acclaimed Teatro Municipal.

Saglie is continually engaged with commissions from instrumentalists, symphonic and chamber ensembles, universities, and artistic centers. His music enjoys widespread performance across Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Oceania, and is frequently featured in CD repertoires by international artists. His opera, El día de la liberación, premiered successfully in Vienna under his musical direction. His body of work includes symphonic works, concertos, opera, chamber music, solo instrument compositions, music for film, and musical theater. His scores are published and distributed worldwide by Universal Edition in Vienna.

Saglie’s musical education is equally distinguished. In the United States, he double-majored in music composition and piano at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) before furthering his studies in Europe at the Music and Arts University and Musikhochschule in Vienna. Although he excelled in entrance examinations for piano, conducting, and composition, he chose to focus exclusively on composition, ultimately earning a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts in Musical Composition.

A recipient of numerous international prizes and awards, Saglie also serves as a curator and adjudicator for global music festivals and competitions. With over thirteen years of experience as a university professor across three countries, he has held roles such as Head of the Composition Department and Music Director/Conductor. Luis Saglie was honored with the Distinguished Talent Residency by the Australian Government for his contributions to the music world. He currently teaches Music Composition at the University of Sydney, Conservatorium of Music in Australia.

Manuel Contreras Vázquez is a Chilean – Spanish composer based in Italy. Three-Time recipient of the Ernst von Siemens Foundation commissioning program, Contreras served as composer-in-residence for the Spanish Academy in Rome, the Center Les Récollets – Institut Français in Paris, the Cinenomada Foundation in Bolivia, and the Kone Foundation in Finland. Manuel is the recipient of awards and fellowships, including the Turing Scheme of the UK Government, the Alban Program of the European Union, the Ibero-American General Secretariat, the Italian Government, the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation, the Castiglioni Prize in Milan, The Luis Advis Prize in Chile and the Pulsar Prize to the best artist of classical music in Chile of the year 2020. His works have been performed by orchestras and ensembles such as International Contemporary Ensemble and Mivos Quartet (New York); Plus-Minus (London); Iberoamericano (Weimar); La Serena Symphony; Taller de Música Contemporánea and Ensamble Contemporáneo (Santiago), Lallement Marques duo (Paris); Algoritmo Ensemble (Rome); Divertimento Ensemble, VirgoVox Ensemble and Sconfinarte Orchestra (Milan); as well as by world-class soloist as Mario Caroli and Diego Castro. Contreras’ music has premiered at festivals such as Mixtur of Barcelona, La Nuit d’Atempo of Paris, Expresiones Contemporáneas of México, and Via Stellae of Santiago de Compostela, among others. His interdisciplinary projects involve exhibitions and performances in La Paz, Guatemala City, Milan, Madrid, New York, Huddersfield, and Santo Domingo. Contreras studied at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, the Milan Conservatory, the Santa Cecilia’s Academy, and the University of Huddersfield, where he is finishing a Ph.D. His tutors and masters were Alejandro Guarello, Pablo Aranda, Alessandro Solbitati, Gabriele Manca, Ivan Fedele, Bryn Harrison, and Aaron Cassidy. His works appear on CDs and DVDs in Chile and Italy.

Miguel Farías, composer, writer, and Doctor in Latin American Studies, is Chilean and was born in Venezuela in 1983. He has been the recipient of commissions and residencies both in Chile and abroad, and has won over 40 national and international awards, including prestigious prizes such as the Isang Yun Music Prize, the Queen Elisabeth Prize, the Reina Sofía Prize, the Zemlinski Prize, the Manuel Valcarcel Prize, the Joan Guinjoan Prize, the Frederic Mompou Prize, the Dimitris Mitropoulos Competition, and the Patronize Award from the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, among many others. Additionally, he was invited to the «Composer Project» and «Roche Commissions» programs at the Lucerne Festival in 2011 and 2013, with Pierre Boulez serving as curator and juror.In June 2012, he won the Art Critics’ Circle Award in the national opera category, and in 2013, the «Altazor» National Arts Award, thanks to his opera «Renca, Paris, and Lice». In 2019, he received the «Domingo Santa Cruz» award from the Chilean Academy of Fine Arts. In 2018, he premiered his second opera, «El Cristo de Elqui», commissioned by the Municipal de Santiago, National Opera of Chile. And in 2021, he premiered his monodrama «La Compuerta nº12», with his own libretto based on the homonymous story by Baldomero Lillo.His music explores the connections between music and literature, as well as the social and political aspects related to music. For Farías, musical discourse is often narrative and symbolic, creating particular sonic worlds in each of his works. Whether with or without vocal presence, his music has developed different aspects of his proposal for music in synergy with literature. An example of this is the dramaturgical development of sound in his chamber works, where musical and sonic gesturality acts as an articulator of narrative.During the 23-24 and 24-25 seasons, Farías has debuts with orchestras worldwide, such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Kansas City Symphony, the San Diego Symphony, OSESP, the Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orquestra de Minas Gerais, and the Medellín Philharmonic, among others. Additionally, in 2022, LAPhil premiered his work «Estallido», and in 2023, this same orchestra, along with Gustavo Dudamel, commissioned him for a cycle of songs to be premiered soon. He is also preparing a commission for the Simón Bolívar Chamber Orchestra to be premiered in 2024, among other international projects.In 2024, Farías released his debut novel as a writer, titled «Plástico». He is currently an associate professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.