Manuel Contreras Vázquez (Santiago, Chile, 1977) studied composition at the Universidad Católica de Chile, at the Milan Conservatory and at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

His works have been published by Suvini Zerboni (Milan), Edizioni Sconfinarte (Brescia) and BabelScores (Paris), besides CDs and DVDs in Chile and Italy.

His music has been performed by Magritte trio, Sconfinarte orchestra, Divertimento Ensemble and Algoritmo Ensemble (Italy), Taller de Música Contemporánea, Croma Trio, La Serena Symphony Orchestra, Ensamble Contemporáneo and FOJI Foundation (Chile); Ensamble SXXI (Spain), Ensamble Iberoamericano and Sonic Art Quartet (Germany), as well as various performers at the Ferienkurse of Darmstadt, Sala Verdi (Milan), Academia de San Fernando (Madrid), Festival La Nuit d’Atempo (Paris), among others.

He was Resident Composer at Spanish Academy in Rome, at the Récollets Center in Paris, at the Saari Residence in Finland and at Fundación Cinenómada in Peru and Bolivia. He has given conferences in Grenoble, La Paz, Roma, Santiago, Valparaíso, and Weimar.

He has received grants and prizes from the European Union and The American States Organization; the Governments of Italy, Spain, France and Chile; the Foundations Ernst von Siemens (Germany), Kone (Finland), and San Fedele (Italy), and the Luis Advis Prize (Chile).