Esther Vilar-Portillo

Born in Barcelona, Esther Vilar Portillo began her piano studies with Esther Heuberger and graduated in piano performance studies at Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya under the guidance of Jordi Camell. She later specialized in the repertoire for voice and piano through the Master's programme in Lied 'Victoria de los Ángeles' at the same institution, where she has also worked as a collaborative pianist. She has studied with Francisco Poyato, Assumpta Mateu, and Josep Surinyac, and has participated in masterclasses with Anne Le Bozec, Pauliina Tukiainen, Roger Vignoles, Sholto Kynoch, Wolfram Rieger, Simon Lepper, Jan Philip Schulze, Burkhard Kehring, Felicity Lott, Christoph Prégardien, and Graham Johnson, among others.

She has been awarded the Prize for Best Lied Pianist and the Special Yamaha Prize at the II Premio AESPIRE organized by the Asociación Española de Pianistas Repertoristas. She has taken part in the Mastercourses of the Oxford International Song Festival and the Internaational Lied Festival Zeist and is a current member of the Song Easel’s 2025 Young Artist Programme. She also attended the 14th Deutsche Liedakademie at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen. She has been a 'LIFE New Artist' at the ‘LIFE Victoria’ Lied Festival in Barcelona and recently received a scholarship to participate in the ‘Lied the Future’ talent development program, an initiative by the Franz Schubert Association with the support of the Banc Sabadell Foundation and the Ferrer-Salat Foundation. She is currently a regular collaborator with the women’s choir ACTEA (Barcelona), with whom she has performed at several venues, including the Palau de la Música Catalana, and has taken part in numerous festivals and recitals in Spain, such as Fringe Torroella-L’Estartit, Serenates d’Estiu de Capdepera (Mallorca), and Festival Mixtur (Barcelona). She also participates in seminars and workshops organised by the Lied The Way association for female pianists and singers.

In addition to her musical training, she holds a Bachelor’s degree with honours in Literary Studies and a Master's degree in Literary Theory and Comparative Literature, both from the University of Barcelona. In the academic field, she teaches at the University Program for Older Adults at the Pere Tarrés Foundation (Ramon Llull University) and has been part of the Organizing Committee for the 15th International Congress on Musical Signification (2022, Barcelona, ESMuC).

Updated 21.5.25