Fernando,
Musician

Fernando started his piano lesson at the age of nine and graduated from the Universidad de Chile and the Escuela Moderna de Música, Santiago.
At seventeen, he was awarded a scholarship from the French Government to continue his piano studies with Marcel Ciampi in Paris. He had just won the First Prize in the “Claude Debussy Piano Competition Award”, sponsored by the French Embassy and the  University of Chile.

While in France, he developed artistic talents and also began drawing, painting, photography, writing and composition in a more serious way.

In 1964, on returning to Chile, Fernando continued his piano studies with Elena Weiss, at the Escuela Moderna de Música. At the same time he explored diferent artistic manifestations.

Gave piano recitals, participated in chamber music, and experimental avant -garde concerts with pieces especially written for him. On many ocassion played with the Philharmonic and Symphonic Orquestra focusing mostly on contemporary music.

He also won the First Prize as a pianist in Chile’s famous CRAV Piano Competition on two occasions (1964 and 1966.)

In 1966 the Institute of Music from the Universidad de Chile awarded the first prize to my original music composition “Estructura” in 1966.

In 1967, he received two international fellowships : one from the French Govermment to return to Paris to study composition, and a second one from the Organization of American States, OEA, in Washington DC., to continue his musical studies at The Piano School in New York City. He chose the second one, and lived in New York City from 1967 to 2006.

In New York he was privileged enough to have Master Classes -as a private student - with Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau and Rafael de Silva.