Clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester is a performer of “poetic eloquence” (New York Sun) and “technical wizardry” (New York Times). He plays regularly at the Bridgehampton and Saratoga Chamber Music festivals, Chamber Music Northwest, and Music from Angel Fire. He has also appeared at the Verbier Festival, Cartagena Festival Internacional de Música, and the Young Concert Artists Festival in Japan. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, BBC Concert Orchestra, Santa Barbara Orchestra, and numerous Spanish orchestras. With the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, he has recorded Bartók’s Contrasts on the Deutsche Grammophon label. Franch-Ballester graduated from the Joaquin Rodrigo Music Conservatory, earned a bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music, and is a former member of CMS’s Bowers Program.