Alfonso Padilla is a Spanish saxophonist with great international prominence, as proven by the amount of concerts, recitals and masterclasses he has offered in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, France, Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Switzerland, Portugal, Morocco, Algerie, Argentina, Taiwán and the United States. An eclectic musician, his musical tastes and interests encompass many diverse genres and styles, although his current work mainly focuses on the performance of classical and contemporary music, and saxophone teaching.
Padilla forms part of various musical groups and projects, including the Ziryâb Saxophone Quartet, Duo Icarus (saxophone and guitar) and Alberto Plaza. He also regularly collaborates with groups and ensembles specializing in performing contemporary music, including Zahir Ensemble.
Padilla's other focus is education and saxophone teaching, having extensive teaching experience starting in 1998. He was saxophone teacher at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica “Manuel Castillo” of Seville between 2006 and 2019, and he regularly conducts masterclasses in Spain and abroad, including the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (Tallinn, Estonia), Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano, Switzerland), Royal Academy of Music of Aahrus, Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium (Aarhus, Denmark), Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris, France), Conservatorio “Jaccopo Tomadini” (Unine, Italy), Conservatorio “L. Perosi” (Campobasso, Italy), Institute of Music “Frederik Chopin” (Warsaw, Poland), Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium (Feldkirch, Austria), Koninklijk Conservatorium (Brussels, Belgium), and the Escola Superior de Música e das Artes do Espectáculo do Porto (Oporto, Portugal).
Padilla has been invited to teach master classes in different courses and international sessions including Eventosax (2011, 2014, 2016) in Velletri (Rome, Italy), Fabrizio Paolleti or the International Saxophone Week Porto 2012 (Portugal), where he formed part of the lineup of professors alongside J.M. Londeix, Arno Bornkamp and Henk van Twillert. In 2014, he toured the United States, conducting seminars and offering recitals at four prestigious American universities: Messiah College (Mechanisburg, Pennsylvania), Susquehanna University (Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania), Mansfield University (Mansfield, Pennsylvania), and Eastman School of Music (Rochester, New York). In 2015 he was invited to the Vienna Saxfest (Austria) where he performed as soloist in the ORF Radiokulturhaus and participated in the XVII World Saxophone Congress in Strasbourg (France).
Padilla joined the V Seminario/encuentro entre Compositores y Saxofonistas at Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina) in 2016, developing lectures and offering recitals in Buenos Aires and La Plata. He also has been invited as a guest at the first Asian Saxophone Congress held in Chiayi (Taiwán) in December 2016, performing as soloist with CYC Wind Orchestra and teaching also at National University of Chiayi.
Padilla studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Música “Rafael Orozco” of Córdoba (Spain), having Bernardo Zagalaz and Manuel Ureña as his professors. After his higher education, he took masterclasses with leading saxophone figures including Daniel Deffayet, J.M. Londeix, Claude Delangle, Vincent David, Phillip Braquart, and Gilles Tressos, among others. He continues to study with Eric Devallon, Professor at the CNR de Bayonne (France), and Arno Bornkamp, international soloist and Professor at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (Netherlands).
Alfonso Padilla currently teaches at Conservatorio Superior de Música “Manuel Castillo” in Sevilla.
Visit www.alfonsopadilla.com to learn more.