Germán Andrés Aguilar. Photo courtesy of Northern Arizona University.
FLAGSTAFF — Germán Andrés Aguilar, an exceptionally talented and much-loved music graduate of Northern Arizona University, collapsed and died on June 7, 2014, while performing in Florence, Italy, with California State University, Long Beach’s Bob Cole Conservatory Chamber Choir under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Talberg, the university reported in a media release.
Aguilar was born on July 7, 1979, in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and moved to Tucson, AZ, at the age of nine. His first exposure to Northern Arizona University came in the mid-1990s, when he attended Summer Music Camp and sang in the Senior Camp Honor Choir. Aguilar later received three degrees from NAU: two bachelor’s degrees in music with highest honors and a master’s degree in choral conducting, earning distinction as the 2009-2010 Outstanding Graduate Student. He also served two years as Assistant Conductor of the Master Chorale of Flagstaff and as its Acting Artistic Director in the spring of 2010.
For the past four years, Aguilar has been Director of Choral and Vocal Activities and Coordinator of Applied Music Studies at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA. He was founding director of the Valley Youth Chamber Choir and recently was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of the Stockton Chorale.
Aguilar developed successful choral programs in the Mesa (AZ) Public Schools between 2003 and 2008. His ensembles toured nationally, received recognition for outstanding performance at state music competitions, and commissioned new compositions. He also was in great demand as a clinician at music camps and choral festivals throughout Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
A memorial service honoring Germán Andrés Aguilar will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 20, at Tucson’s Rincon/University High School Auditorium, at 421 N. Arcadia Blvd.
Donations can be made to the Germán Andrés Aguilar Memorial Choral Scholarship (#5395) at NAU Foundation, PO Box 4094, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4094 or nau.edu/giving .