The XXII Darwin Vargas International Contemporary Music Festival closed with an outstanding participation of the audience and the presentation of international and national guests, consolidating a week dedicated to creation, research and promotion of contemporary music.
The activity was organized by the Music Institute and Conservatory of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and funded by the 2025 National Music Promotion Fund from the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage (MINCAP).
Between November 10 and 14, various locations in Valparaíso hosted concerts, premieres, roundtable conversations, mediations and formative activities, with the participation of ensembles, composers and performers from Italy, the Netherlands, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile. The inauguration included a tribute to composer Gabriel Matthey Correa and an audiovisual intervention through the mapping technique, incorporated for the first time in the history of the festival.
Throughout the week, the audience was able to access, free of charge, performances by national and international ensembles, PUCV artistic groups, the premiere of new talents and recent work of established composers. The closing event brought together the PUCV Andean Orchestra and the Native Instruments Experimental Orchestra from Bolivia, in a collaboration that integrated tradition, innovation and intercultural dialogue.
For the director of the festival, Félix Cárdenas, this edition reasserted the value of this event as an artistic and formative space. “The festival reminds us of the importance of opening opportunities that promote creation, research and exchange between musical communities. We thank the public, composers, performers and collaborating institutions for making this new edition possible”.
The educational component of the festival included roundtable conversations, masterclasses, workshops, artistic mediations and pedagogical concerts, strengthening the connection between the university, citizens and the regional cultural ecosystem. All the activities were free of charge, promoting access of new audiences to contemporary music and its new trends.
By Raquel Concha
Music Institute
