Uruguayan composer and conductor Federico Garcia Vigil passed away on June 4, 2020, at the age of 79.

Born in Montevideo on January 5, 1941, Vigil attended the Elbio Fernandez school before studying piano at the Guillermo Kolischer Conservatory.

In the 1960s, Vigil was hired to work at the Orchester de Ballet Alicia Alsono in Havana Cuba. Here, he met ballet dancer Margarita Fernandez, whom he would marry and take back to Uruguay.

Recognized for his talents, Vigil was awarded a scholarship by the Uruguayan Ministry of Education and Culture in order to further his conducting studies in Buenos Aires. He was also invited for engagement with the Embassy of France, as well as the governments of Germany and Great Britain.

Vigil served as a conductor with many orchestras throughout his career, such as the Montevideo Philharmonic, and symphony orchestras in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Bogota, Chicago, Portland, Vancouver, Madrid, Stockholm, Warsaw, Tokyo, and more.

As an opera director, Vigil worked with theaters throughout South America and the rest of the world.

Check out this video to get a better sense of his career (it’s in Spanish).