“I love traveling around the world, discovering and sharing new experiences. Traveling is one of the most interesting things we can do in our life, and having the possibility of performing new pieces from other countries is important in creating new principles through the world.”
“Living in Finland provides me with more open-mindedness of music and awareness of the cultural world and how musicians can contribute to it. Saxophone is one of most recent instruments in last centuries, so why not spread it with new challenges?”
Nationality: Spanish
Education: B.M Musikene, Higher School of Music of the Basque Country (Spain) and M.M in Classical Saxophone Performance at the Sibelius Academy (Present)
Languages: Spanish, French, English, Portuguese
Antoine Flores Gracia grew up in Arafo, a small town in the east of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). He started playing the saxophone at the Nivaria Academy Wind Orchestra when he was 7 years old. Three years later he got into the Conservatory of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where he continued until he got his Classical Saxophone Diploma in 2013 with professor Benigno Cedrés and was awarded an outstanding mention. At the same time, he received piano lessons from professor Ingrid Ferrera at the Güímar Music School.
Then, at the age of 18, he moved to San Sebastian to do his Bachelor’s Degree in Musikene, the University of Music in the Basque Country. For three years he received saxophone lessons from Antonio Felipe, Tomás Jerez, Eric Devallon, Miguel Ángel Lorente and Thomas Barthelémy. In 2015, he did an Erasmus exchange year in Poitiers, France. During the stay in France, he had the opportunity to improve his French language skills as well as receive lessons from Christophe Bois and Gilles Tressos. After finishing his Bachelor’s Degree with high qualifications, he was given the chance to study with professor Joonatan Rautiola at the Sibelius Academy (Helsinki, Finland) as he got the only vacancy in Classical Saxophone Master’s Degree. At the same time, he finished in February 2019 a Master’s degree in Teacher Training in Compulsory Secondary and Upper Secondary School Education, Vocational Training and Languages, International University of Valencia (Spain).
He has extensive performance experience with wind and symphony orchestras, ensembles and chamber music groups and he has given private saxophone lessons. He has played with the European Union Youth Wind Orchestra conducted by Jan Cober, the Basque Country Symphony Orchestra, the Canary Islands Youth Orchestra and since 2016 he is a founding member of the saxophone quartet Iberian Quartet. he has had several private saxophone students aged 13 to 30 when he was in Tenerife, San Sebastián and currently in Helsinki. Antoine has also recorded albums with a couple of music groups: between 2012 to 2015 he played in two recordings with Voces de Mujer and one with Atimaguara.
Antoine has been awarded with several prizes in national and international competitions, such as 2nd prize in Concours Européen pour Jeunes Solistes in 2017 in Luxembourg and 1st prize in Concurso Nacional para Jóvenes Saxofonistas in Sevilla, Spain, in 2009.
He has been also awarded with several grants and scholarship by the Education and Cultural Ministery os Spain, Cabildo de Tenerife during his Bachelor’s Studies, and recently by Mapfre Guanarteme Foundation as well as Martin Wegelius Foundation.
He hopes to finish his Master’s Degree at the Sibelius Academy in autumn 2019 and after graduation he intends to combine working as a teacher in high school, conservatory or University of Music with performing solo recitals and also with his chamber music group.
