Manu Brazo
"So happy to count on Key Leaves!” - Manu Brazo (Concert Saxophonist, Educator)
Manu has been a guest on BBC Radio 3 In Tune on multiple occasions since he was named BBCs Introducing Artist of 2018 and featured on Classic FM, where his first performance was rated as “amazing and 100% colossal”.
His concert debut in the UK was in 2016 with Guildford Symphony Orchestra and in 2017 he performed Tansy Davies’ saxophone concerto with London Sinfonietta. He has performed as a soloist throughout England and Spain but also with various ensembles including Croydon Symphony, Halifax Symphony Orchestra, Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra, London City Orchestra, OSC (University of Seville), Orquesta Bética de Cámara and Orquesta FiIlarmonía de Granada. During 2021/22 he will have his German concerto debut at the prestigious Berlin Philarmonie.
Accompanied by pianist Bryan Evans MBE, Manu was invited by promoters Live Nation to be the opening act for Sir Cliff Richard at Greenwich Music Time Festival and to open ‘Downton Live’ at Highclere Castle to audiences of around 12,000 people. In 2018 he was selected to take part in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme where he performed at the Snape Maltings Proms conducted by Marin Alsop.
Over the last few years Manu has been a regular concert artist at British and International music festivals and has performed recitals at the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, St Martin in the Fields, Victoria Albert Museum, King's Place, Teatro de la Maestranza, Perth Festival of the Arts of Scotland, Real Alcázar of Sevilla, Royal Academy of Arts, Alderney Festival, Newbury Festival, Kammermusikkfest of Noruega and Aegean Arts Festival of Crete.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Manu recorded his first EP for solo saxophone: “SOLO DIALOGUE”, which was released in June 2020. It was showcased on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM and Scala Radio. This September he released his debut album: “FOLK-LORE”, with pianist Pepe Fernandez. Folk-Lore is an album in which classical and popular music, mix and interact, showing airs of flamenco, improvisations in a jazz-like style and other popular kinds of music, breaking the boundaries between genres. Spanish music is the link that unifies the whole album. Spanish folk music is represented by the popular tunes that the poet Federico Garcia Lorca compiled, which Manu and Pepe have adapted and rearranged to the sound of the saxophone and the piano, with variations that go from baroque inspiration to that of the music of the twentieth century.
Born in Seville, Manu started to play the saxophone at the age of 9. Having studied in Spain he was accepted at the Royal College of Music where he graduated his Master in Performance and Artist Diploma with Distinction and won numerous awards. As a young musician Manu has received support from Making Music (PDGYA), The Musicians Company, The Tillet Trust, Drake Calleja Trust, Concordia Foundation and Talent Unlimited. Manu lives in London.