BANDA SINFÓNICA DE JOVENS DO CONCELHO DE STA. MARIA DA FEIRA (Portugal)

Director:
PAULO MARTINS

Band profile

The band was launched in 1998 and has always worked closely with the accompanying Santa Maria da Feira youth orchestra. Paulo Martins leads the band and is also assistant director of the youth orchestra.
Both bands aim to involve young people in music as an opportunity for self-expression and a possible career. Band performances throughout Portugal also give the band members an important opportunity to travel and help motivate students to make the effort necessary to extend their repertoire.

Director profile

Paulo Martins was born in Castelo de Paiva and first played the saxophone at the Porto conservatory. He has attended master classes with Daniel Deffayet, the Amsterdam saxophone quartet, René, Decouais, and Jean Ives Formeau. During 1998/9 he was assistant teacher at the Escuela Superior de Música y de las Artes del Espectáculo (ESMAE).
Later he began studying the bassoon with Hugues Kesteman at the ESMAE - where he obtained a diploma with 19 points. He has also worked with Gunter Pfitzenmaier, Sérgio Azzollini, Milan Turkovic, Pierre Kerremans, Robert Glazburn and Arlindo Silva.
He obtained various national prizes with the 'Juventud Musical Portuguesa', the Porto conservatory competition, the CTI young players' competition, the Aveiro and Coimbra young players' competition. He has been soloist with the Orquesta de Jóvenes de Santa Maria da Feira, and the Orquesta Sinfonieta. He has also played with the Orquesta de Jóvenes da Feira, the Orquesta Regional de Braga, the Orquesta de Coimbra, and the Orquesta National de Oporto. He has performed in Spain, France, Belgium, and Macao.
He is currently studying bassoon with Gunter Pfitzenmaier at the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe, Germany, and is a member of the Ensemble de las Tierras de Santa Maria. He directs the Sinfónica de Jóvenes de Santa Maria da Feira. He has been regularly invited to form part of the Orquesta National de Oporto as saxophonist. He teaches at the academies of Castelo de Paiva, Santa Maria da Feira, and the Escuela Profesional Artística de Vale do Ave.