Biography

Irene Gomez

Born in Bogotá, Colombia Irene Gómez has been a pioneer of the classical guitar in her homeland.

Raised in a family of music lovers   Irene started to play guitar  at the age of eight.

She became the first guitarist ever graduated as a guitarist at the Conservatory of Music in Bogota, under the guidance of Ramiro Izasa, and  later in France she graduated with the Gold Medal in guitar and chamber music with Javier Quevedo at the Claude Debussy Conservatory in Saint Germain en Laye. Previoulsy, she received the “Diplome de Fin d’études” at Paris XV Conservatoire with Uruguayan guitarist Betho Davezak.  In 2012, Irene received  the Master of Music from The Juilliard School with renowned  guitarist Sharon Isbin.

She has also enhanced her knowledge through the master classes she attended with guitarists Eduardo Fernandez, Enric Madriguera, Eliot Fisk,  and  Miguel Angel Girollet.

With music from traditional to new composers for the guitar Irene has released the tites:   Sunset Guitar (2000), Deep in the woods (2004), Images (2006) and Estudios y  Fantasias (2010),  that have enjoyed of great comments from critics and audiences alike and that have lead to rerelease them in new editions.

An active concert player, Irene has performed   in cities like Paris, Meudon, Bergerac, Liestal, Basilea, Brno, Rome, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, Erie,  Caracas, and the numerous cities in  her country.

She  has been soloist with the Bogota Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Conservatory of Music Orchestra  from Bogota;  she had  made part of different chamber music ensembles  in France, USA and Colombia as well.

Currently Irene Gómez is a teacher and coordinator of the Guitar Program at the Master’s degree at the National University of Colombia and studies her doctoral degree at the University of Granada, Spain. She also continues her collaboration with Strings by Mail in its  educational branch through her writings on guitar history and tutorial videos.

“Irene Gomez is a very creative guitarist” Soundboard Magazine, USA