About
Spanish percussionist Santiago Villar (1998– ) develops a wide-ranging artistic practice that bridges music and audiovisual creation, with a strong focus on contemporary art. His musical work centers on direct collaboration with composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Daniel Ott, Simon Steen-Andersen, Jennifer Walshe, Unsuk Chin, Gitbi Kwon, Stylianos Dimou, Alberto Posadas, and Thomas Meadowcroft, both as a soloist and within ensembles. He has performed under the direction of figures like Sir George Benjamin, Beat Furrer, Baldur Brönnimann, Matthias Hermann, Emilio Pomàrico, Guy Feder, Peter Vale, Titus Engel, and Carlos Miguel Prieto.
In 2020, he co-founded two contemporary ensembles that are active within the Swiss and European contemporary music scene. ICE 3 Ensemble is dedicated to experimental music for percussion and media, while Ex-Sentia Ensemble explores and expands the repertoire for the piano-saxophone-percussion trio through the use of new technologies and formats. He has also performed with several mid-sized contemporary ensembles, including Unruhe Kollektiv, Ensemble Recherche, Studio Musikfabrik, Ensemble TMC, TACoS, CUME, Diagonal Ensemble, and the Iberian Percussion Ensemble.
In addition to his experience as a performer, Santiago has cultivated a strong background in organizing and producing both solo and collaborative musical projects. As a videographer, he collaborates with composers, chamber groups, and ensembles such as Eventuell., Duo Naïa, Il Concerto Intempestivo, Clash Trio, Reconvert, Klanglab Ensemble, and the Basel Sinfonietta, creating audiovisual works through his platform Musician’s Eye.
He is currently a member of Basel Sinfonietta and has also performed with orchestras such as Sinfonieorchester Basel and OSCyL. Deeply engaged in the contemporary music scene, he has participated in festivals such as Lucerne Festival, Festspiel Baden-Baden, Ruhrtriennale in Duisburg and Bochum, Darmstadt Ferienkurse, Impuls Graz, Donaueschinger Musiktage, Attacca Festival, Mizmorim Festival, Jazz Festival Basel, and Festival la Escucha Errante.
Santiago earned his professional and undergraduate degrees in Spain and Poland (Fryderyk Chopin University of Music), graduating with top honors, the Professional Studies Award (2016), and the Final Degree Prize (2021). In 2022, he received an honorary mention at the Certamen Arte Joven in Spain. In 2023, he was awarded second prize at the BOG Foundation competition in Switzerland and was nominated for the We:now Music Prize in Spain. In 2024, he received the Kiefer Hablitzel Göhner Musikpreis, the Fritz Gerber Prize from the Lucerne Festival, and second prize in the contemporary category at the Santa Cecilia Music Competition.
He obtained his Master’s degree in Performance with a specialization in Sound Design in 2022 at the Musik Akademie Basel under the guidance of Christian Dierstein and Volker Böhm. In 2024, he completed a Master’s degree in Pedagogy at the same institution.
He currently lives and works in Basel, Switzerland, where he teaches percussion at the Aesch-Pfeffingen School of Music.
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