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JESUS MARTINEZ (b. 1987)
 Jesus J. Martinez is a currently a senior at the University of Texas at Arlington as a Music Education Major specializing in percussion. As a student at UTA, Jesus has had the great opportunity to study among some of the best percussion instructors in the nation including Dr. Michael Varner, James Yakas, Dr. David Wolf, and Grammy- winning drumset artist, Adonis Rose. Jesus also takes private composition lessons from UTA Associate Professor Dr. George Chave, and TCU Associate Professor Dr. Martin Blessinger. During his time at UTA, Jesus has been commissioned by many high schools in Texas to compose and arrange indoor percussion shows and field percussion shows for contest, including Mathis High School, Robstown High School, H. M. King High School, De Soto High School, and South Grand Prairie High School. Jesus has also been sought out as a percussion judge for the 23rd De Soto Grand Champion Marching Contest held every fall. In 2009, Jesus was chosen to present at the Annual Celebration of Excellence by Students (ACES) at UTA for his work for Marimba Quartet titled “Temperance,” with which he won honorable mention and was also the first student in UTA history to present under the category of music. Also in 2009, he was commissioned to score a film titled “The Okra Principle,” which premiered at the Studio Movie Grill in Dallas, TX and was chosen for the Los Angeles Film Festival and later the San Francisco Film Festival hosted by Danny Glover. Jesus was chosen again at ACES in 2010 to present an abstract based on Jack the Ripper titled, “The Ripper: From Hell.” In Fall 2010, Jesus was commissioned by Dr. Michael Varner from UTA to premiere a new piece titled “Memories” for percussion ensemble. In October, Jesus held a composition recital at UTA premiering his Temperance String Quartet, a Trombone Quartet, and his 35-minute production of “The Ripper: From Hell,” a 32 member production, which included chamber orchestra, percussion, 2 soloists, and SATB choir, and was conducted by himself. In March 2011, Jesus won the ACES President’s Award for his original composition, “Threnody for 9/11,” making him the first music major at UTA to have won the highest undergraduate award at the symposium. Jesus was recently commissioned to score a new film titled “Mystery of Birds” premiering March 2011 in Dallas, TX. Jesus was also selected as a semi-finalist for the 2011 McNair Scholarship. Jesus is a member of TMEA, PAS, and ASCAP.
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