Ernani Aguiar


Ernani Henrique Chaves Aguiar is a Brazilian composer, choral conductor, and musicologist.

Life and career

A scholarship winner to the Argentine Mozarteum, Aguiar studied under various composers and conductors in South America and later in Europe, including Sergiu Celibidache. As a musicologist, he has specialized in the revising, editing, and revival of works by composers of the 18th century Minas Gerais School. He has written a number of instrumental pieces, but his most famous works are his choral pieces, such as the fiery Salmo 150, which features rhythmic backgrounds with very rapid articulations. Salmo 150 has proved a very popular piece among choral conductors worldwide, particularly within the American Choral Directors Association.
He is currently a professor of music at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, a fellow of the Villa-Lobos Institute, and a member of the Academia Brasileira de Música.

Choral works