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Miguel Aguilar Ahumada (1931--) By Díaz, Nicolás Masquiarán
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Miguel Aguilar Ahumada is a Chilean composer, academic, and musicologist. His value in the Chilean and Latin American musical panorama lies in his role as a key figure for understanding the development of musical institutions outside the main centres of production. His work is a benchmark in the singular transition to Chilean avant-garde music in the mid-twentieth century, particularly as an outstanding example on the adoption of the twelve-tone system. He was instrumental in promoting avant-garde music until the 1973 putsch compromised his ability to maintain his connections in Santiago. Aguilar received the Municipal Prize of Art in Music (1986), the Charles Ives Award for Composers (1996), the Regional Award in Musical Arts (2006), and the President of the Republic Award in the Classical Music category (2006).