Woodwinds
Clarinet
Iván Javier
Valbuena Páez
Availability
1 hour lessons
45 minutes lessons
30 minutes lessons
Dr. Iván Valbuena is a versatile clarinetist with an international career as an orchestra performer, soloist, and educator. He currently serves as Associate Principal and E-flat Clarinetist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for the 2024-2025 season. Previously, he held positions as Assistant Principal and E-flat Clarinetist with the San Antonio Philharmonic, Principal Clarinet with the New Mexico Philharmonic, and second clarinet with the Mid-Texas Symphony. He has also performed with esteemed ensembles such as the Houston Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, Bogotá Philharmonic, and Austin Symphony, among others.
An accomplished musician, Iván has won numerous prestigious competitions, including the 2017 Matthew Ruggiero International Clarinet Competition and the 2014 Harold Wright Clarinet Award from the Boston Woodwind Society. He has also been recognized in multiple national and international competitions, earning top prizes in the National Performance Competition “Ciudad de Bogotá,” the Bogotá Chamber Music Competition, and the Graduate Clarinetists Festival Competition, among others.
As a soloist, Iván has performed with the Cusco Symphony Orchestra in Peru and Symphony Pro Musica in Boston, where he premiered Montilla’s Fantasia Concertante for Two Clarinets and Orchestra, a virtuosic work dedicated to him. He has also appeared as a featured soloist with the Lab Symphony Orchestra, Longy Chamber Orchestra, and Collegium Musicum Orchestra in Bogotá’s Teatro Colón. Additionally, his artistry has been featured on KUTX 89.9’s Eklektikos radio show.
As a longtime member of the Orchestra of the Americas, Iván performed in prestigious venues across Europe, North America, and South America, including the Krzysztof Penderecki European Center for Music in Poland and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico. Serving as principal clarinetist for six consecutive years, he performed key roles, including Variaciones Concertantes by Ginastera during the 2016 Nordic-Baltic tour. He was also selected for the Global Leaders Program, where he helped develop musical outreach programs in Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, and the United States.
In addition to his orchestral career, Iván is the co-founder of the A Dos Music Project, a clarinet duo dedicated to expanding the reach of Latin American music through innovative instrumentation and arrangements. The ensemble has been recognized by the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) and the Presser Foundation for its impactful educational tours, which have brought free concerts and lessons to students in over a dozen Colombian cities, as well as indigenous communities in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, and refugee camps in Sweden and Germany.
Iván holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Conservatory of Music at the National University of Colombia, a Master of Music in Clarinet Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a Clarinet Assistant Instructor for three years. His diverse career continues to make an impact in performance, education, and cultural advocacy.
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He has participated in different music festivals including Prague Summer Academy (Czech Republic, 2015), Fontainebleau Schools of Music and Fine Arts (France, 2011), Ghent Festival of Flanders, with the Traveling Notes Orchestra (Belgium, 2010), and Les Chemins du Baroque (France, 2009). He has been part of the Ibero-American Youth Orchestra, on a tour between Spain and Portugal during the XIX Summit of Heads of State and Government under the baton of maestro Gustavo Dudamel in 2009.
His soloist experience includes performing the Violin Concerto by L.V. Beethoven and the Spanish Symphony by E. Laló with the MINEDU Youth Symphony Orchestra (Peru) in 2016, and 2010 respectively and Vivaldi’s Summer and Bach’s Concerto in A minor with the National Symphony Orchestra in 2007 and 2005 respectively. Carlos has taken piano and conducting lessons leading to important achievements such as first place in the National Concert Competition in honor to W.A. Mozart, in the category up to 17 years old, performing the concerto No. 12 KV 414 for piano. As a conductor he led the Chamber Orchestra of the University of North Dakota in 2015 and the Peruvian Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2010.
