Juraj Filas is the author of more than 90 opuses including symphonic music, concertos, vocal music (cantatas, Te Deum, Requiem, TV-Opera), compositions for big brass bands, and a vast number of chamber works. He studied both vocal performance and composition at the Prague Conservatoire (1972 - 1976), and won several singing contests, but his interest in composition soon prevailed. After completing his studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in 1981 (studying composition with Jiri Pauer), he'd already begun to establish quite a reputation as a composer. During the eighties he won the title of laureate three times at domestic young composers' contests in Ostrava (Generace). His original education as a singer marks his musical expression with a hightened sense of melody, and his instrumental music is charged with great emotional energy. Filas' themes are sententiously formulated, the base of his musical feeling is bel canto singing, growing up from the great tradition of Western European music. Juraj Filas lives in Prague and apart from composing he also lectures on composition at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts.

Filas composes mainly on commissions from world-class players and ensembles, e.g.: Joseph Alessi - solo trombonist for the New York Philharmonic (2 sonatas and a Concerto); Otto Sauter - one of the best contemporary piccolo trompetists (Concerto, Sonata and some other compositions); Jamese Gourlay - a leading British tuba-player (Concerto).

Filas has been asked to write music for ensembles as "Spanish Brass-Luur Metal" (Brass quintet), Swiss "Slokar Quartett" (trombones) or "Zürcher - oboenquartett" (they gave the first performance of his composition Du liebe gute Freiheit). His TV-opera "Memento Mori" (written for Czechoslovak TV) won "Jacobs-Suchard Prize" at the International Music Competition in 1989. His compositions took part in many performances' contests in Prague (Prague Spring), Riva dell'Garda, Narbon, Helsinki, Guebwiller, Bremen, Geneva etc.

His works has been performed on the prominent stages of many international music festivals and at venues such as Beethovenfest (Bonn), Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Centre (NY), the Prague Spring Festival (Prague), ORF Wien, Tonhalle Zürich (CH), Sankt Galen (CH), Lausanne (CH), Geneva, Paris (F), Hong-Kong, Thai-wan, Tokio, Mexiko, Sankt Peterburg, London etc. About one third of his work has been published by Swiss EDITIONS-BIM, and some works were published by Czech publishers Supraphon (now Editio Bärenreiter Praha) and Panton. The works of Jural Filas has been broadcasted by radio and TV-stations all over the world.