DCO 024 – Miguel Ángel Santaella: Across

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, 1971. After many years of lessons on Composition and Choral Conducting with renowned educators on three continents, he obtained his Master in Music in Jazz composition at CODARTS, The Netherlands.

He had conducted some of the most audacious choral projects of Venezuela at its time: Eduardo Plaza Aurrecoechea Chamber Choir (3rd Overall Prize, National Choir Competition 1998), Diseño Vocal FAU UCV Choir, Sies Seis (Bronze Diploma, Vokal.Total Graz, 2007) and Vocalia (digital EP Soñando a Venezuela nominated for Best South American Recording, CARAwards 2013). Also founded and leaded Caffeine (the vocal jazz group) in Rotterdam. He is currently working as a freelance composer, choir conductor in different choirs and cities across the Netherlands. He has also being guest conductor of the belgian Vocaal Ensemble Reflection in Antwerp within the Meet The Conductor event in April 2023.

As a composer and arranger, Santaella has been already recognised as one of the most important Venezuelan composers on choral music. For his outstanding work he has received different awards and recognitions in Venezuela (Several national composition competitions between 1996 and 2010), the Netherlands (2de plaats, Grote Arrangeerwedstrijd, Ricciotti Ensemble 2015, with Laudatio for Extended Jazz Orchestra) and Japan (Honorary Mention, Japan International Choral Competition 2021, with Deus Caritas Est for SATB a cappella choir). In the Netherlands he has been also recipient of commissions from the Pedagogical joint program of CODARTS/Ricciotti Ensemble (2016 with TruncoTranco for Street Orchestra), AKOM ensemble for Woordnacht Festival (2018, with Jazz Indigo for quintet and reciter) and the Beroepsvereniging van Improviserende Musici-50 Jaar compositieopdracht project (2021-2022 with Across for Jazz quintet).

His recorded works included digital releases for Vocalia (Soñando a Venezuela, 2013) Sies Seis (Güaréver, 2007-2018) and Caffeine (On Xmas, 2016, his first solo album (Miguel, 2020) and the first live concert recording with his Jazz Ensemble (Across, 2023)

"Creativity is an unconscious act of insanity, in a burst of which the truth is born. No matter how beautiful or disgusting it may seem to people far from madness, its value is beyond doubt, both for the author and for those able to sense its invisible beauty. After all, gratitude for endless trials and suffering brings joy and blissful emptiness… Being shocked by music is about pain turning into beauty and getting under your skin, taking away your breath; about everything stopping to move. I want to be scratched inside by sound and experience the fleeting, invisible beauty." - Maxim Shalygin