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Francisco Vila

“Vila brought out the fervor and vitality…consummate projection.”
-The Strad Magazine (April 2012)

Ecuadorian cellist Francisco Vila began playing the cello at age 8 and had his solo debut with orchestra at 14. Concert activities have taken him throughout Europe, North and South America.

Vila was granted a Presidential Scholarship to the Boston Conservatory for his Bachelor studies, after which he received a Performance Diploma from Indiana University where he was a student of Janos Starker, Sharon Robinson and Menahem Pressler.

In 2012, he was selected to the inaugural cello class at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where he earned an Artist Diploma under the famed cellist Gary Homan. Performing collaborations have included those with artists such as Nobuko Imai, Maria João Pires, Gary Homan, Wolfram Christ, Martin Chalifour, members of the Juilliard String Quartet, violist Kim Kashkashian and others. Mr. Vila has appeared as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, Liège Royal Philharmonic, Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Santander Festival Orchestra, Aalborg Symphony, Indiana University Philharmonic, the Central Florida Orchestra, and all principal orchestras of his native Ecuador.

He has been a participant at the Ravinia Steans Institute and guest artist at the Beaumaris, Santander, and Stavelot music festivals among others; as a member of the iPalpiti Festival of International Laureates performed in such venues as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Los Angeles’ Disney Hall, Mozarteum Salzburg, and on international tours.

Vila views teaching as an important aspect in music-making. In March of 2015, Mr. Vila founded at and directs the International Music Festival of Esmeraldas (Ecuador) in his hometown. This is a social project that unites gifted young artists from Central and South America for two weeks of masterclasses with international artists, providing all of its activities including concerts free of charge to the public. For his work with this platform, Mr. Vila has received coveted grants from the US State Department, Tarisio Trust, and the Sphinx MPower Grant.

Principal cellist of the Aalborg Symphony in Denmark since 2016, he performs on a fine 1790 Vincenzo Panormo cello on generous loan from the Saul B. and Naomi R. Cohen Foundation.