Born: November 30, 1958 - Punta Arenas, Chile
Died: September 30, 2018 - Santiago, Chile |
The Chilean choral conductor, tenor singer and music pedagogue, Víctor Alarcón Díaz, trained in music and singing at the Conservatorio Nacional de la Universidad de Chile and at the Instituto de Música de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Since 1985 Víctor Alarcón worked intensively founding and directing numerous choirs, among which the Coro Bellas Artes, Coro de Estudiantes de la Universidad Católica and Agrupación Concerto Vocale stand out, with whom he performed at Chile's main concert seasons and toured throughout America and Europe.
Víctor Alarcón was an Academic at the Instituto de Música de la Universidad Católica and directed the "Crecer Cantando" (Growing up Singing) project of the Corporación Cultural de Santiago, from where the work of more than three hundred school choirs is articulated. He contributed to the training of new talents that will integrate the new generation of choral directors from Chile, many of whom were members of the Coro Bellas Artes.
In 2000, the Circulo de Críticos de Arte de Chile (Art Critics Circle of Chile) awarded him the Special Distinction in Music, in recognition of his contribution to the diffusion, organization and interpretation of choral music. In 2001, the Universidad Católica de Chile awarded him the "Ex-Alumno Destacado" (Outstanding Alumnus) award from the Faculty of Arts, and he was appointed as the Jurado Nacional del Concurso Fondart del Ministerio de Educación de Chile (National Jury of the Fondart Contest of the Chilean Ministry of Education).
On July 16, 2018, the first concert of the Bach Santiago cycle, the monumental project created by Professor Víctor Alarcón, made Santiago the first Latin American capital where all the J.S. Bach cantatas would be performed. Only two months after this historic concert, the remembered professor at the UC Institute of Music, and the most active figure on the choral scene in the entire country, Víctor Alarcón, died prematurely in a car accident in Santiago. The Universidad Católica decided to continue with the Bach Santiago cycle, and has complied, despite the health emergency. |