Jose Franch-Ballester

clarinet

The multi-award-winning Spanish clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester is considered one of the finest classical soloists and chamber music artists of his generation. He has been hailed for his “technical wizardry and tireless enthusiasm” (New York Times), his “rich, resonant tone” (Birmingham News), and his “subtle and consummate artistry” (Santa Barbara Independent). The recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008 and winner of both the Young Concert Artists and Astral Artists auditions, he is a solo artist and chamber musician in great demand.

Mr. Franch-Ballester regularly performs with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and is principal clarinet of Camerata Pacifica in Santa Barbara. He has performed concerto solos with many orchestras, including the BBC Concert Orchestra, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico, I Musici de Montréal, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Radio Televisión Española. He collaborates regularly with chamber music festivals around the globe such as Music@Menlo, Mainly Mozart, Chamber Music Northwest, Nexus Festival Tokyo, Westport Festival Ireland, Kon-Tiki Festival Norway, and the Dresden Music Festival. He is the founder of Jose Franch-Ballester i amics (and friends), a series of concerts in which young musicians from all over the world are presented in Mr. Franch- Ballester’s hometown of Moncofa and throughout the Valencia area.

Born into a Spanish family of clarinetists and Zarzuela singers, Mr. Franch-Ballester graduated from the Joaquin Rodrigo Music Conservatory in Valencia and continued his studies with Donald Montanaro at the Curtis Institute of Music. He is currently assistant professor of clarinet and chamber music at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. For further information, please see music.ubc.ca/jose-franch-ballester.

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