Born December 13, 1953, in Montevideo, Uruguay
Elbio Rodríguez Barilari was born in 1953 in Montevideo, Uruguay, where he studied at the Conservatório Universitario and
with Coriún Aharonián, Graciela Paraskevaídis and Héctor Tosar before continuing his education in Brazil with Eduardo
Bertola, Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, Gilberto Mendes, Joaquín Orellana and Conrado Silva at the Cursos Latinoamericanos de
Música Contemporáne. He subsequently studied in Germany, on an invitation from the Deutscher Musikrat, with Milko
Kelemen, Helmut Lachenmann and Dieter Schnebel; he was also mentored while in Europe by Luciano Berio, Konrad
Boehmer, Otto Donner and Misha Mengelberg. As a clarinetist and saxophonist, from 1994 to 1997 Barilari led the Barilari
Quinteto and organized Planeta Blues, the first Uruguayan blues band to tour Europe and to record a compact disc; during
the 1990s, he also led the fourteen-piece La Banda Oriental.
Since settling in the United States in 1998, Barilari has lectured at the University of Chicago and the Instituto Cervantes
and given workshops in Chile and Paraguay; he is currently on the faculty of the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has
collaborated annually with the Grant Park Music Festival since helping to organize a tribute concert to Astor Piazzolla in
2002, for which he was also commissioned to write his Bandoneón Concerto. In June 2006, the Grant Park Orchestra,
conducted by Carlos Kalmar, premiered his Canyengue at Millennium Park; that same season at Grant Park he also recruited
and prepared the orchestra of native South American instruments for the performance of Ariel Ramírez’s Misa Criolla.
Barilari is also the founder of “Global Warming,” a Chicago ensemble devoted to the exploration of various cultural
traditions.
Elbio Barilari has been closely involved with educational and community affairs, having served as an advisor to the Ministry
of Education and Culture in Uruguay, Uruguayan delegate to the cultural section of MERCOSUR, and Deputy Commissioner
of the Committee for the Reform of the State of Illinois Code of Education. He has also been a member of the Community
Advisory Board of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra since 2001, and was appointed to the CSO Programming Committee in
2006.
As a composer, Barilari has received commissions from the Grant Park Music Festival, Concertante di Chicago, Chicago Park
District, Chicago Composer Forums, Orquesta Filarmonica de Montevideo, pianists Maria João Pires and Marcel Worms and
guitarist Eduardo Fernandez, and a grant from the Sara Lee Foundation. In addition to works for orchestra, chamber
ensembles and solo instruments, he has provided scores for more than forty plays in the United States, Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay. In 2007, his Los Cantos for Soprano, Choir and Orchestra was premiered at Lyric Opera of Chicago
to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Chicago Children’s Choir. His Lincolniana, incorporating texts by Carl Sandburg
and Walt Whitman and featuring jazz trumpeter Orbert Davis, Goodman Theatre actor–director Henry Godinez and the
Ondas Ensemble, was first heard at the Ravinia Festival in September 2008.
Barilari has published a novel (Lugares Comunes, 1987), four collections of short stories (Posibles Versiones [1985], Fuera
de la Nada [1986], Alarmas y Excursiones [1990] and La Mitad del Infinito [1994]), and a book on Uruguayan folk and
popular music (Aquí se canta, 1982, co-authored with Juan Capagorry). He has also served as music critic and columnist for
the newspaper El País as well as editor-in-chief for La Raza, the leading American-Hispanic weekly, and director of its
monthly publication Arena Cultural.
Notes on the Program by Dr. Richard E. Rodda
Civic Orchestra of Chicago
2008-2009 Season
Resume
• Lincolniana , 2008, for Trumpet, Narrator, Voice and instrumental ensemble. Orbert Davis, soloist. Comissioned by the
Ravinia Festival. Premiered Sept. 7th, 2008.
• Los Cantos, 2007, for Soprano, Choir and Symphonic Orchestra, requested by the Chicago Children’s Choir, and
premiered by Jonita Lattimore, the Chicago Children Choir and the Lyric Opera Orchestra under Josephine Lee, at the
Civic Opera House.
• Darwin’ s Dream, 2007, flute, clarinet, piano, requested and premiered by Ondas Ensemble
• Tango for Beethoven, 2006, Strings quintet and piano, requested and premierd by the Nation Chamber Ensemble of
Montevideo, Uruguay.
• Canyengue, 2006, requested and premiered by Grant Park Symphonic Orchestra, at the Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago,
under Carlos Kalmar.
• Gondwana, 2005, premiered by Paquito D’Rivera and Orquesta Panamericana, Pritzker Pavillion, Millennium Park,
2006.
• Alturas de Macchu Picchu, 2004, for Symphonic Orchestra, requested and premiered by Concertante di Chicago,
through a grant by Sarah Lee Foundation.
• Concerto for Bandoneon, 2002, requested and premiered by Grant Park Symphonic Orchestra, in Chicago.
• Piano Piece 2002, 2002, requested by the Dutch virtuoso Marcel Worms, premiered at the Chicago Cultural Center,
2001.
• Oboe Concerto, 1997, requested by the Philarmonic Orchestra of Montevideo, Uruguay, and premiered under Maestro
Leo Bouwer, Elvira Casanova, soloist.
• Tangata for Orchestra, 1994, requested by the Philarmonic Orchestra Of Montevideo, Uruguay, and premiered under
Maestro Roberto Garcia Mareco.
• Other works include pieces for chamber and solo instruments, as well as music for the stage, Jazz and Tango
ensembles.
JOURNALIST
• Editor-in-Chief, La Raza Newspaper, Chicago, 1998-2005
• Director Arena Cultural, monthly magazine, Chicago, 1999-present
• Columnist, BBC, Mundo Latino, 2000.
• Columnist, Terra.com, 2000-2001
• Columnist, El País Newspaper (Uruguay), 1987-present, and correspondent in USA, 1998-present.
• Editor-in-Chief La Guia del Ocio magazine (suplement of El Pais) (Uruguay) 1987-93.
• Editor-in-Chief, Sincensura magazine (Uruguay) 1984-85.
• Director Nueva Viola monthly musical publication (Uruguay), 1982-86
• Journalist of El País Newspaper (Uruguay), 1977-present.
• Wrote several articles for the New York Times News Sales Syndicate (appeared in publications of USA, Argentina,
Mexico, Paraguay and Chile).
• Anchor, Cultural News, Canal 5, S.O.D.R.E. TV, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1985-86.
• Working experience in radio since 1975: Radio Sarandi, Radio Centenario, Radio Nacional, Montevideo, Uruguay.
WRITER
• One novel: Lugares Comunes, 1st. edition 1987, 2nd. edition 1994, Ediciones de la Banda Oriental.
• Four books of short stories: Posibles Versiones, 1985; Fuera de la Nada, 1988; Alarmas & Excursiones, 1989; La Mitad
del Infinito, 1994, all in Ediciones de la Banda Oriental, Montevideo, Uruguay.
• Collective novel: La muerte hace buena letra, with Mario Benedetti and other Uruguayan writers, 1995, Editorial Trilce,
Montevideo, Uruguay.
• Essay: Aquí se canta, la música popular uruguaya bajo la dictadura, Editorial Arca, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1982.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
• Teacher of Latin American Music, UIC, Performing Arts Dept..
• Lecturer, Latin American Culture, Instituto Cervantes, Chicago.
• Lecturer, Latin American Culture, University of Chicago.
• Instructor in Creative Writing Workshops, Ministry of Education and Culture, Uruguay.
• Professor of History, Uruguay.
RECENT AWARDS
• First Prize in the category of Outstanding Latin America Article, National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP),
USA, 2004
• First Prize in the category of Editorial Column in Spanish, National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), USA,
2001
• Awarded as one of the best 100 hundred Latino journalists in US, at Hispanic Media 100, Miami, Florida, 2001
• Finalist, Peter Lizagor Award for Journalists, 2001
• First Prize in the category of Editorial Column in Spanish, National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), USA,
2000
• First and Second Prizes in the category of Editorial Column in Spanish, National Association of Hispanic Publicatio
(NAHP), USA, 1999
• First Prize in the category of Editorial Column in Spanish , National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), USA,
1998
• First Prize in the category of Cultural Article in Latin America, NAHP, USA, 1998
• Second Prize in the category of Political Documentary in Latin America, NAHP, USA, 1997
• Delegate of Uruguay at the MERCOSUR, cultural field, 1995-1997
• Advisor, Ministry of Education and Culture, Uruguay, cultural policies, 1995-1997
OTHER POSITIONS
• Artistic Director of the Chicago Latino Music Festival
• Member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Programming Comittee
• Member of The Community Advisory Board, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, since 2001
• Deputy Commissioner, Committee for the Reform of the State of Illinois Code of Education, 2001
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
• Master of Arts and History, Instituto Artigas, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1976
• Master Degree in Composition and Clarinet , Conservatorio Universitario de Música, Montevideo, Uruguay, 1978
LANGUAGES
Spanish, French, Portuguese and English.