Miguel Farías
composer
About this Artist
Miguel Farías (b. 1983) is a Venezuelan-Chilean composer, writer, and scholar whose work moves between concert music, opera, literature, and the stage, often engaging with Latin American history, identity, and politics. He studied in Chile, Switzerland, and France and holds a PhD in Latin American Studies from the Universidad de Chile.
His music has been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Medellín Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Musikfabrik, PHACE, Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Vortex, and other orchestras and ensembles throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. His orchestral work Estallido received its world premiere by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2022 and has since been performed by orchestras across the Americas. In March 2027, the Los Angeles Philharmonic will present the world premiere of Mistralianas, a commission for soprano and orchestra based on poetry by Gabriela Mistral, featuring Sonya Yoncheva and conducted by Domingo Hindoyan.
Farías’s operas include Renca, París y Liendres, premiered by the Chilean Symphony Orchestra; El Cristo de Elqui, premiered by the Chilean National Opera at the Municipal de Santiago in a production staged by Jorge Lavelli; La Compuerta No. 12.; and his chamber opera Una vaca mirando el piano. His monodrama Mirror, Mirror…, inspired by the work of Chilean writer and performer Pedro Lemebel, received its world premiere at Lincoln Center in 2026, performed by loadbang as part of New Latin Wave’s FUTUROS series.
Farías has received more than 40 national and international honors, including distinctions at the Isang Yun Music Prize, Queen Elisabeth Competition, Reina Sofía Prize, and BMW Musica Viva Competition, as well as Chile’s Art Critics’ Circle Award, Altazor National Arts Award, and Domingo Santa Cruz Award from the Chilean Academy of Fine Arts. He participated in the Lucerne Festival’s Composer Project and Roche Commissions programs under the artistic guidance of Pierre Boulez.
His portrait album Up & Down was released by KAIROS in 2019, followed by the album of orchestral works Retratos Australes, released by Chile Clásico in 2024, and Abandono: Trilogía de óperas de bolsillo, released in 2026. Farías is Associate Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where he serves as Director of Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Arts.