CITYSHOWCASE.CO.UK

Clavijo Duo

ArtForm: CityShowcase Act/Composer

www.paulamartinezviolin.com

Paula Martinez, violin
Miguel Clavijo, classical guitar

Having recorded for BBC television and Spanish Radio, Paula Martinez is a busy professional musician, in demand as a soloist and orchestral player.

Paula’s talent has been recognised by such violinists as Gyorgy Pauk, Gordan Nikolitch, Isabelle van Keulen, Boris Belkin, Ulf Hoelscher and Evgeny Grach.  She also performs regularly with the pianists Sergey Bezrodny (duo partner of Vladimir Spivakov) and Marco Fatichenti. These duos have taken her to venues across the UK and Spain, to critical acclaim.

A gifted orchestral player, Paula led the National Youth Orchestra of Spain and went on to play with the European Youth Orchestra. Since then she has played in many of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Berlin Konzerthaus, St. Petersburg Auditorium and Birmingham Symphony Hall etc. She regularly freelances with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and under the baton of B.Haitink, V.Ashkenazy, G.Schuller and B.Zander, among others.

The spanish violinist began her studies at an early age with Lev Chistiakov, formerly of the Moscow Conservatory. In 2002 she came to the Royal College of Music, to further her training with Itzhak Rashkovsky and in 2004 she was specially selected by the RCM to study at the New England Conservatory in Boston with the eminent violinist James Buswell.

Miguel Clavijo is a versatile artist developing a reputation across Europe as a truly exciting guitar player. “Extraordinary artistry... a performance that comes straight from his soul”

In 1999 by personal invitation of the artistic director, Miguel became laurate of the "Fete de la Musique" International Music Festival in Caracas-Venezuela. Since then, he has performed extensively in Venezuela, and, later on, he was invited to play in New-York, Paris and London, including concerts at The London National Gallery, Royal College of Music, St James's Picadilly, Victoria & Albert Museum, Landmark Series etc.

Miguel was a finalist at the Antonio Lauro Guitar Competition and has shared the platform with guitar virtuoso Nirse Gonzalez (winner of Francisco Tarrega Guitar Competition, 2006) Miguel's late yet impressive ability on taking up the guitar meant he would learn in four weeks what would take a typical student an entire year. He studied with Jose G. Guanchez and Franco Platino. Following a whirlwind rise learning in Venezuela, and with just three years playing the classical guitar Miguel travelled to Baltimore to enrol on a GPD program at the prestigious Peabody Conservatory of the John Hopkins University, made possible by a full scholarship from the institute.

Miguel has conducted choirs and lead workshops, particularly in New York. He has received awards for excellence in teaching and has taught over a thousand students.

 Biog as provided for City Showcase 2010