BIO
Andres Bonilla is a composer from Bogotá, Colombia. His music is a merging of timbral, textural and rhythmic exploration. In it, Bonilla incorporates both the western classical tradition and Latin American colors and rhythms. In addition, his interest in rock and electronic music provide a fertile field for experimentation.
In the same way, he values and utilizes multimedia and an interdisciplinary approach as a way to expand creative and artistic horizons. He believes that innovation is only possible by incorporating diverse visions and perspectives in the creation process. This approach allows him to share his own vision with a world that is becoming more heterogeneous and diverse every day. Similarly, recognition of minorities, creation of historical memory, and exploration of modern social problems through a musical lens are all part of his creative focus.
Bonilla’s music has been played in Colombia and Europe. The screening of his multimedia work Viaje I will be performed from October 26-29, 2021, at the Giovan Battista Martini Conservatory’s 50 Years of Electronic Music in Bologna celebration, GBM50. In 2019 his music was featured in Bologna’s Pratello Theater’s multimedia performance commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall, La Caduta del Muro, Liberta vs Uguaglianza. His music has also been performed by the Bologna Conservatory Orchestra in 2021, the Senza Spine Orchestra in 2021, and the Contemporary Music Ensemble and Andean Music Ensemble Academia Superior de Artes de Bogotá in 2018.
Bonilla has also participated in several theater productions. His work was part of the play La Muerte Se Va a Granada 2014 (International University Theater Festival of Manizales, Colombia), Secreto a Voces 2013 (Bogota, Colombia). He has received commissions from the Bologna G.B.M Conservatory to write orchestral arrangements of music by Ennio Morricone and the Colombian composer Luis Antonio Calvo.
Bonilla holds a BA in Musical Composition from the rigorous Academia Superior de Artes de Bogota F.J.C University, where he studied composition with Gustavo Lara Paz, Jaime Torres and Carlos Guzman. He studied musical analysis with Luis Sanchez Godin, orchestration with Juan Diego Gomez, and counterpoint with Francisco Castillo. He studied abroad at the University of Bologna where he studied psychology of music, philosophy of music, history of Italian cinema, history of American cinema and history of religions, all of which influence his creative process today.
He received his master's degree from the Giovan Batista Martini Conservatory in Bologna, graduating Summa Cum Laude. There he studied orchestration and composition with Aurelio Zarrelli, Daniele Furlati and Guido de Gaetano and conducting with Nicoletta Conti.
Currently, Andres Bonilla is pursuing his PhD in Music Composition at the University at Buffalo, where he continues to develop his art and expand his creative horizons.