Biography
Guitarist and composer Santiago Kodela achieved early recognition on an international scale through both his performances and his original works. Multiple compositions by Kodela appeared on Navona Records releases, including the album The Distant Shepherd, on which he played his own guitar pieces.
Born in Argentina in 1984, Kodela studied guitar at Buenos Aires’ Tademus Music Workshop between 2001 and 2005. From 2008 to 2012 he enrolled at the city’s Conservatorio Superior de Música “Manuel de Falla,” where María Catalina Bello served as his instructor. Relocating to Dublin, Ireland, in 2013, he entered the Royal Irish Academy of Music and trained under Marion Hyland, completing a diploma in music teaching and performance the following year. He remained at the institution to obtain a bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2017. During this period he released his debut recording, the 2015 EP Wanderlust, recorded with drummer Kyle Walker, and in 2016 he received the Gaiety Bursary from the Academy, which enabled him to present Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra under conductor Gavin Maloney. He later pursued a master’s degree in music and media technologies at Trinity College Dublin with Ann Cleare, concentrating on audio production and contemporary music composition. Kodela continued to reside in the Irish capital into the mid-2020s.
On the 2019 Navona Records collection Patterns: Chamber Works he performed his guitar suite Two Lords. In 2020 the Arts Council of Ireland presented him with the COVID-19 Crisis Response Award after he delivered a live-streamed recital heard throughout Europe, Asia, and South America, and also granted him the Professional Development Award for his guitar compositions developed under the guidance of Marco Ramelli. The same body awarded Kodela the Agility Award in 2021 to support additional work with Ramelli. That year he captured the gold medal first prize in the senior classical guitar category at Ireland’s Feis Ceoil competition. His string-quartet piece Euphoria appeared in 2022 on the album Pinnacle, Vol. 2: Contemporary Chamber Works, performed by the Benda Quartet. The following year he released the solo-guitar album The Distant Shepherd containing his own compositions.
Born in Argentina in 1984, Kodela studied guitar at Buenos Aires’ Tademus Music Workshop between 2001 and 2005. From 2008 to 2012 he enrolled at the city’s Conservatorio Superior de Música “Manuel de Falla,” where María Catalina Bello served as his instructor. Relocating to Dublin, Ireland, in 2013, he entered the Royal Irish Academy of Music and trained under Marion Hyland, completing a diploma in music teaching and performance the following year. He remained at the institution to obtain a bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2017. During this period he released his debut recording, the 2015 EP Wanderlust, recorded with drummer Kyle Walker, and in 2016 he received the Gaiety Bursary from the Academy, which enabled him to present Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra under conductor Gavin Maloney. He later pursued a master’s degree in music and media technologies at Trinity College Dublin with Ann Cleare, concentrating on audio production and contemporary music composition. Kodela continued to reside in the Irish capital into the mid-2020s.
On the 2019 Navona Records collection Patterns: Chamber Works he performed his guitar suite Two Lords. In 2020 the Arts Council of Ireland presented him with the COVID-19 Crisis Response Award after he delivered a live-streamed recital heard throughout Europe, Asia, and South America, and also granted him the Professional Development Award for his guitar compositions developed under the guidance of Marco Ramelli. The same body awarded Kodela the Agility Award in 2021 to support additional work with Ramelli. That year he captured the gold medal first prize in the senior classical guitar category at Ireland’s Feis Ceoil competition. His string-quartet piece Euphoria appeared in 2022 on the album Pinnacle, Vol. 2: Contemporary Chamber Works, performed by the Benda Quartet. The following year he released the solo-guitar album The Distant Shepherd containing his own compositions.
Albums
Singles
