Project Description
Irene Fernández Mena began her musical studies at the age of five, and music has been a part of her life ever since. She started with piano, intonation and rhythm classes, and in a an environment dominated by keyboard and string instruments, she decided on the saxophone.
Her different projects have led her to perform in important concert venues nationally and internationally, both as a soloist and chamber musician, such as the Gran Teatro of Cáceres; Provincial Council of Badajoz; Auditorium of San Francisco in Avila; Royal Theater of San Lorenzo de El Escorial; San Blas Auditorium and Fonseca Auditorium in Salamanca; Infanta Leonor Theater, Darymelia Theater in Jaén; Viana Palace, Góngora Theater, San Hipólito Cultural Center in Córdoba; Maestro Padilla Auditorium, Cervantes Theater and Apolo Theater in Almería; Caja de Granada Theater and Isabel la Católica Theater in Granada; Cathedral of Jaén and Granada; Manuel de Falla Auditorium in Madrid; Notre-Dame Church and the Poitiers Auditorium.
Born in Jaén (South of Spain) she studied music at the professional conservatories of Córdoba and Jaén, concluding her studies at the Rafael Orozco Superior Music Conservatory of Córdoba, where she graduated with honors, special awards for her career, and with a brilliant academic record.
Her musical preparation is complemented by the valuable instrumental training of great and renowned saxophonists such as Arno Bornkamp, Claude Delangle, Jean Denis Michat, Nikita Zimin, Nobuya Sugawa, Jean-Yves Formeau, Gilles Tressos, Philippe Braquart, Masataka Hirano, Fabrizio Mancuso, Christian Wirth, Alexander Doisy, Philippe Lecocq, and others.
She has received various awards, including from the International Huelma Contest, where she also obtained a special mention from the jury.
In 2011 she continued her training at the University of Córdoba, this time in the pedagogical field, pursuing a master’s degree in compulsory secondary education, and a baccalaureate in professional training and language teaching in person, specifically in the music field. Furthermore, her interest in the field of musical research led her to study the master’s degree in musical heritage at the University of Granada and the University of Andalusia (UNIA). Her research studies on flamenco jazz for the saxophone, which obtained the highest marks, led her to give lectures at the University of Plasencia and the National University of Distance Education (UNED), to participate in research seminars and collaborate with magazines specialized in music and education.
