Francisco Martinez

Born in San Juan (Alicante), Maestro Martínez completed his formal music study in Alicante and Madrid. Later he completed additional studies in France with Daniel Deffayet, Serge Bichon, and J.M. Londeix among others.

His performances consist of concerts in various halls within Europe and the United States. Highlights include work as a soloist with the UCLA Contemporary Ensemble in Los Angeles, the Instrument Ensemble of the Royal Air Forces of Belgium, the Symphonic Orchestra of Córdoba, the International Orchestra Ensemble of Italy, the Gerhard Project, the Chamber Orchestra Villa de Madrid, the Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra, Portuguese Symphonic Band,  the Madrid Symphonic Orchestra, the Radio and Television Orchestra of Kishinev, Moldavia, the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mediterranean Symphonic Orchestra, the Savitra Chamber, UAM Symphonic Orchestra, and Sax-Ensemble Chamber Orchestra.

Several of his performances have been broadcast on Spanish National Radio, Spanish Television, Swedish and English television, Radio France, FR3, RAI, RTBF Brussels, RTL Luxemburg and BRT, and Moldavian Radio and Television. More than 200 composers have written works for him, which he later premiered as a soloist or with the Sax-Ensemble group. Mr. Martínez is the artistic director of Sax-Ensemble and award winner of the Spanish Ministry of Culture’s National Music Award for Interpretation, the first time in history that such an award was granted to a chamber music group. It currently has eighteen CDs released by the seals: Author, Verso, RTVE Music, Naxos, Canticum, and two DVDs also edited by Canticum.

He has participated on various occasions in international and national saxophone juries. He has taught as professor at the Muchamiel Conservatory, Elche Municipal Conservatory, Murcia Superior Conservatory, the Teresa Berganza Conservatory and the Madrid Royal Superior Conservatory of Music, and the where he currently holds position as Chairman of Saxophone, Head of Wood Wind Department, and director of the Master of New Technologies of Modern Music, for Creators and Interpreters. He has also been a professor for several years at the Autonomous University of Madrid and has completed courses or lectures at the Complutense University (Madrid), University of Seville, University of Surrey (England), University of Saint Andrews (Scotland) and UCLA University (Los Angeles, United States) and Minneapolis University (United States).

In his experience as an organizer of musical activities, are the Second European of the Saxophone Meeting of Alicante (1987), European University of Saxophone (from 1992 to 2010), International  Music Course of Almagro (1998 to 2015) and European Congress of Saxophone-Eursax (2014). He was president and founder of the Spanish Saxophone Association and he is currently president of the European Saxophone Committee.

He works at the Royal Superior Conservatory of Music of Madrid, were also is Head of Wood Wind Department, and director of the Master of New Technologies of Modern Music, for Creators and Interpreters.