Cirilo Vila

Vila compositions were mixed. In popular music, this included transcriptions of songs by Víctor Jara and songs composed for the group Quilapayún. In the area of scholarly or experimental music, he has composed countless works premiered at major festivals of contemporary music in the country. He has written for national renowned artists such as the guitarist Luis Orlandini, the hornist Edward Brown, tenor José Quilapi and pianist Cecilia Plaza, among others. In addition, he has composed music for theatrical releases and works for musical performances. In over 50 years of activity he wrote works for different genres ranging from orchestra, chorus, chamber ensembles, to soloists. Among his last works include De sueños y evanescencia (2003) for ensemble, premiered by the Contemporary Music Workshop of PUC, led by Pablo Aranda, Del diario de viaje de Johann Sebastián (2001) for cello and piano, and Bodandina con ecos de plata (2001) for two horns. He also composed a symphonic work entitled Germinal which premiered in 1989 by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago in the Municipal Theater of Santiago.

The teaching of the master Vila began in 1970 at the Faculty of Arts, University of Chile. There he was responsible for the formation of an important generation of Chilean musicians of the 1970s and 1980s, many of which now play a vital role in the countries music scene.

Cirilo Vila died of a heart attack on 23 July 2015 at the age of 77.