Jesús Reina
Beyond his virtuosity on the instrument, critics praise the Spanish violinist Jesús Reina for his “sunny and soulful personality” —John Rockwell, for his “freshness and boundless spontaneity”, and for the “beauty of his sound, characterized by true musicality, temperament and charisma” —El País.
Jesús' grandfather, José Reina, introduced him to the violin through folk music and his talent soon called the attention of great masters. When he was eight years old, Yehudi Menuhin and Natasha Boyarskaya invited Jesús to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School. At 10 years of age he was accepted to the Reina Sofía School under the tutelage of José Luis García Asensio. Two years later, Jesús entered Indiana University to study with Mauricio Fuks. Then, at age 15, he attended the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Patinka Kopec and Pinchas Zukerman.
Jesús has been presented at various renowned venues, such as Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Saint Petersburg’s Philharmonic Glinka Hall, the National Auditorium in Madrid, and Palau de la Música in Barcelona. Furthermore, Jesús has performed at international festivals such as the Miami International Piano Festival and Music@Menlo in California, as well as in some of the most predominant music series in Spain, including Auditorio de Zaragoza, Festival del Escorial, Festival Musika-Música in Bilbao and Sociedad de Conciertos de Alicante.
Among the orchestras which Jesús has concertized with are Mariinski Philharmonic, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of Lower California, Yucatán Symphony, Barcelona Symphony, Málaga Philharmonic, Murcia Symphony or Asturias Symphony, being invited by conductors such as Valery Gergiev, Pinchas Zukerman, Manuel Hernández Silva, Francisco Valero, Tomás Grau, Virginia Martínez, Juan Carlos Lomónaco, Sebastian Hamman, Eiji Oue and Ari Rasilainen.
Jesús’ enthusiasm for chamber music has led to collaborations with musicians such as violinist Guy Braunstein, violist Paul Neubauer, pianists Judith Jáuregui and Josu de Solaun, and cellists Øyvind Gimse, Amanda Forsyth, and Kyril Slotnikov.
Recent highlights include performances with Málaga Philharmonic, Cordoba Symphony and Asturias Symphony. Jesús performed at Premios Princesa de Asturias to prize recipients Ennio Morricone and John Williams. He also participated in the New Year and 20th-anniversary concert of the City of Almería Orchestra, and the 30th anniversary of the Cervantes Institute celebrated at Sofia’s Philharmonic Hall (Bulgaria). Soon, Jesús will record the Bruch and Mendelssohn violin concertos with the Malta Philharmonic and conductor Óliver Díaz for the Aria Classics label.
An artist of entrepreneurial energy, Jesús returned to establish himself in his birth city and co-founded the Málaga Clásica Festival with violinist Anna Nilsen. Jesús has since been part of nine successful editions as artistic director of the festival, uniting some of the best international musicians in chamber music encounters. At the same time, he led the creation of the Galamian Academy, a centre for musical specialization. His endeavours have earned him the Medal of Honor of Málaga and the Doors of Andalucía Award, an acknowledgement given to people, entities and institutions that highlight the values of Andalucía throughout the world.
Jesús appears on the weekly Canal Sur’s hit television show, “Tierra de Talento”, hosted by comedian Manu Sánchez. In addition to exercising jury work in the show, he has also collaborated with great artists from various musical genres, such as José Mercé, María Villalón, Mariola Cantarero, India Martínez, Pasión Vega, El Kanka and Ale Romero.