BIO

Born: La Serena, Chile, 1986

Education and Training:

Manuel Figueroa began his musical education at the Experimental School of Music Jorge Peña Hen and graduated with highest honors from the University of La Serena with a Bachelor's degree in Music, specializing in Double Bass. Between 2010 and 2011, he pursued Artistic Training in Double Bass at the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland. He has studied orchestral conducting with masters such as Carlos Miguel Prieto, Johannes Schlaefli, Nicolás Pasquet, Rodolfo Fischer, Hugo Domínguez, and Gottfried Engels, among others. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Cultural Diplomacy and International Music (with distinction) from the University of the West of Scotland. Additionally, he is a distinguished graduate with an Artist Diploma from the prestigious Carlos Miguel Prieto Conducting Fellowship at the OAcademy under the guidance of Scott Wilson, Marin Alsop, Sir Roger Norrington, Marta Gardolinska, Giancarlo Guerrero, and Alexander Shelley, among others. His other studies include specializations in Cultural Marketing (Kedge Business School, Marseille, France) and cultural leadership at The Global Leaders Institute (United States).

As an Artistic Director, Manuel has collaborated with various youth and professional orchestras in Chile, the United States, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. He has premiered symphonic works; award-nominated phonographic recordings, and hosted composition competitions, tours, and productions spanning various disciplines from ballet to opera including improvised, electroacoustic, and choral symphonic music.

Double Bassist:

Manuel began his double bass studies with Maestro Enrique Díaz Julio in La Serena, Chile, and continued with Maestros Andrej Misinski and Adam Bogacki in Warsaw, Poland; Gottfried Engels in Cologne, Germany; Max Ebert, Sergio de Oliveira, and Thibault Delor in Brazil; Thomas Martin in Chile; Matthew McDonald (Berliner Philharmoniker) in Canada; Daniel Krekeler and Peter Lloyd (United States); DaXun Zhang (Silk Road Ensemble); and Catalin Rotaru. He has performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the National Symphony Orchestra of Guatemala, Symphony Orchestra of the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, FEMUSC Symphony Orchestra, the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Copiapó, La Serena University Symphony Orchestra of the, and the Orchestra of the Americas (YOA), among others.

He has premiered works at the Contemporary Music Festival of the Catholic University of Chile and MUSICAHORA Contemporary Music Festival of La Serena, Chile, and participated in critically acclaimed recordings with producers such as Gregory K. Squires and Orchid Classics. Notably, he contributed to the Grammy Latino 2015-winning album for Best Classical Music alongside the Orchestra of the Americas and Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero. Currently, Manuel is endorsed by the Danish microphone brand, REMIC.

Manuel has performed as a soloist both in Chile and abroad, premiering his first double bass concerto, as composer and performer, with the University of La Serena Symphony Orchestra (2016), under the direction of Maestro Nicolás Rauss. He has given recitals in Bogotá, Colombia; Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil; New York, United States; Warsaw, Poland, and shared the stage with artists such as Leon Spierer (Berliner Philharmoniker 63-93), Catalin Rotaru, Kurt Nikkanen (New York City Ballet Orchestra), Sarah Chang, James Ehnes, Gabriela Montero, the New York Theater Ballet, and DaXun Zhang, among others.

Manuel currently holds the position of professor of Double Bass at the University of La Serena, where he has also taught courses in Harmony, Polyphony, Instrumental Ensemble, and Symphony Orchestra. Manuel is also a guest professor at Kutztown University Chamber Music Festival, in Pennsylvania, United States. His activities have taken him to countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, Honduras, the United States, Poland, Germany, Canada, France, Belgium, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

Composer:

As a composer, Manuel has worked in various styles and formats, from radio theatre to opera. Between 2012 and 2014, he composed the music for the national radio theatre production "Voces del más allá". He also composed incidental music for projects like "El Quijote de la Cuarta" and provided musical restoration for the audio drama of the film "El Chacal de Nahueltoro" for the Cine al Oído program by the Gestionarte Foundation and Chile Actors. His commissions for incidental music include works for the Antigua & Barbuda Company from Spain (Chile, 2018); the short films "Sonata for the Machine" and "Memento Mori" (United Kingdom, 2020-21); and the theatrical work "YinYin" by Andrea Franco (2018).

In 2017, he premiered the ballet for youth "Yatiri & the Fairy of Mists", inspired by the story of French author Danielle Ball. In 2016, he premiered his first double bass concerto with chamber orchestra with the University of La Serena Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, he premiered his opera "Todos para Uno" in La Serena, Chile, and the work "Sub Mari", commissioned by the Red Note Ensemble and presented in various cities across Scotland in the context of the COP-26 conference. In 2022, he premiered the musicalization of the German film "Nosferatu" (1922), and in 2023, he premiered his work "Affekt/Effekt" in the United States and Chile.

Manuel has worked across many genres with artists such as Michael Scales, Amanda Treiber, Martina Corsini, Marianne Mandy, and Francisco Soto, among others. 

In 2024, he anticipates the premiere of his second opera: "Ánthropos - A Journey to the Mythical Wallmapu" with a libretto by Felipe Chacón.

Management and Other Activities:

Manuel Figueroa is part of the 2013 Global Leaders generation of the Orchestra of the Americas (YOA), of which he has been a mentor for the following two years. Thanks to this, he has been inspired by great masters such as Plácido Domingo and composer Tan Dun, and has received instruction from renowned cultural figures and Nobel laureates.

He is currently the founder and artistic director of the University Orchestra of the University of La Serena, which has been nationally recognized for its tours, recordings, and as one of the emerging initiatives of YOA and Global Leaders Institute. He is also the founder and artistic director of the International Chamber Music Festival of Elqui, an activity that brings together the most talented music students from Chile with recognized international musicians and educators. Additionally, Manuel has organized various events and activities related to art, such as interdisciplinary encounters of painting, poetry, and music; music workshops and orchestral conducting masterclasses, talks, and more.

In 2018, he represented Chile at the Classical Next fair held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in conjunction with the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Heritage.