José M. Sánchez-Verdú completed his musical education in composition, conducting, and musicology at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid and continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main (with Hans Zender) as well as in Italy, France (IRCAM), and other countries. He also holds a law degree from the Universidad Complutense Madrid and a Ph.D. from the Universidad Autónoma Madrid.

As a composer, Sánchez-Verdú has collaborated with numerous renowned orchestras, ensembles, and festivals across Europe and worldwide, including leading institutions such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. His works have been performed at major festivals like the Munich Biennale, the Salzburg Biennale, the Warsaw Autumn, and Wien Modern. His projects include musical and scenic works incorporating light and spatial dramaturgy, as well as installations that have been presented internationally.

Sánchez-Verdú has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Förderpreis der Siemens-Stiftung, the Premio Nacional de Música (Spain), and the Irino Prize (Tokyo). He has been Composer in Residence at prestigious festivals such as the Carinthian Summer (Austria) and the Dresden Philharmonic, where he conducted three orchestral concerts. He has also been Artist in Residence at the Villa Concordia (Bamberg, Germany) and an invited composer at international conferences and festivals.

After studying with E. García Asensio, A. Tamayo, and W. Raiski, he has worked as a conductor with orchestras and ensembles across Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East. His conducting engagements include collaborations with leading orchestras such as the SWR Orchestra, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Mainz, and the Brussels Philharmonic, as well as contemporary music ensembles like Ensemble Modern, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, and Ensemble Mosaik Berlin.

Sánchez-Verdú has taught counterpoint and fugue at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid, composition at the Carl Maria von Weber Academy of Music in Dresden, and served as an interim professor of composition at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover. Since 2001, he has been a lecturer in composition at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, where he was appointed honorary professor in 2021. In 2019, he assumed a professorship in composition at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid. In 2024, he was also elected as a member of the Academia de Bellas Artes in Madrid.

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