Ana Irene Rodrigues

Saxophonist Ana Irene Vasconcelos Rodrigues was born in 1986 in Puerto-Cabello, Venezuela. At the age of five years old, she went to live in Madeira island, Portugal. When she was eight years old she started to have piano lessons at the School of music and arts of Madeira (Conservatório-Escola Profissional das Artes da Madeira. Two years later she started also to play the saxophone, with Duarte Basílio at the same school, and later on she also started to play in the village fanfare (Banda Municipal de Machico). In 2000 Ana Irene entered the Professional Course of Music in the School of music of Madeira, where at 17 she finished her high school specialized in music. During this three years of education she had the chance to participate and play with several groups like wind orchestras, saxophone quartet, choir, big band, contemporary group. She also did several master-classes and courses with Jean-Ives Formeu and his saxophone quartet, Demetrio Mendez, The Coimbra Saxophone Quartet, João Figueiredo, Manuel Silva and Henk van Twillert, etc. During her studies besides many concerts in Madeira, Irene went to perform in Finland, Spain, England, Açores, etc. Since 2004, she studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, as a student of the class from Henk van Twillert. During these years, Irene has performed in many cities of Europe with saxophone ensemble, saxophone quartet, trio, duo and many other chamber music groups. After one year an a half of non-playing due to an injury on the left arm, she re-started playing and performing again in the summer of 2009. During the 1st Semester of the school year 2009/2010, she went to study at the conservatorio "Giuseppi Verdi" in Milano, Italia for four months in the saxophone class of Mario Marzi. Now, back to Amsterdam, Irene is at the 3rd year of her bachelour studies, in the saxophone class of Arno Bornkamp.


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