Virginia Martinez
Conductor
Biography
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Chief conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Región de Murcia
Principal Conductor of the Orquesta de Jóvenes de la Región de Murcia
Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Región de Murcia and principal conductor of the Orquesta de Jóvenes de la Región de Murcia (the Youth Orchestra of the Region of Murcia), Virginia Martinez is one of the leading Spanish conductors of today.
A graduate in piano and harmony, she received a scholarship from the Séneca Foundation of Murcia to continue her studies in orchestra conducting at the City of Vienna Conservatory, having Reinhard Schwarz and Georg Mark as instructors, and earning the grade of “Magna Cum Laude with special mention”.
Since then, she celebrated critically acclaimed concerts with orchestras such as the Orquesta Nacional de España, Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Kammerorchester, Orchestre National du Montpellier, Orquesta de Valencia, Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao, Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, National Orchestra of Brasil and collaborated with renowned soloists like Javier Perianes, Boris Belink, Judith Jáuregui, Fazil Say, María Espada, José Antonio López, Gustavo Peña, José Ferrero, Cristina Faus, María Bayo, Pablo Ferrández, Christian Poltera, Jesús Reina, Gabriela Montero or Joaquín Riquelme, to name a few. And with stage designers and stage directors like Paco Azorín, José Carlos Plaza o Emilio Sagi.
In January 2004, she was awarded “Joven del Año” by the Region of Murcia and was appointed assistant conductor to Bertrand de Billy at Barcelona’s Gran Teatro del Liceu. In December 2009, she toured the United States with concerts at the Lincoln Center (New York) and at the McCormick Place (Chicago). In 2016, the town of Molina de Segura opened the Auditorio “Virginia Martínez Fernández” in her honor.
She was awarded as one of the “Women of the Year” by the prestigious awards that are granted by the national Spanish magazine 'Mujer Hoy' (Vocento Group). She also received the distinction of “Women of the Year 2018 in Murcia”, awarded by the Autonomous Community, for being "one of the most important and young conductors on the international level”, “her human qualities” as well as for “her teaching works”, resulting in bringing classical music closer to the young audience.
Future highlights will see her debut in Canada with the the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and bring her to the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de Mexico while returning to many Spanish orchestras.
