Juan Felipe Waller

Juan Felipe Waller

Juan Felipe Waller (b.1971) was born and brought up in Mexico City in a mixture of cultures from his Dutch father and Mexican mother. After studying for some years at the ‘Academie des Arts Plastiques’ in Paris, he continued his musical education in Mexico at the Music Study and Investigation Centre (CIEM). Since 1994 he has been studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory with Klaas de Vries and Peter-Jan Wagemans. He has been a participant in masterclasses by L. Berio, J. Tiensuu, M. Stachowski, P. Bujarski, F. Donatoni and G. Brophy. In some of his works such as El Culto for four singers and large ensemble and En el Allure del Frenesi there is an evident influence of Mexican instrumentation, colour and style, whilst in other pieces as Jeu de Dames, and Eye Masking the musical source emerges from a darker and psychological inspiration. In both cases surrealism plays an important role. Waller is one of the most versatile and eloquent musicians of his generation, equally at ease writing for a chamber ensemble, a dance company, or a multimedia project.