Eneko Iriarte Velasco

Born in Irun (Basque Country, Spain), Eneko Iriarte learned the clarinet under several Basque teachers such as Jose Luis Estelles, Antony Pay and Carlos Gil, until he got his bachelor’s degree (San Sebastian, Basque Country) in 2011. During this time, he won the accesit prize at a youth chamber music competition with the  Schumann trio (viola, clarinet, and piano). Iriarte also played in the Granada City Orchestra and the Basque Country Youth Orchestra.

In 2013, Iriarte completed his master’s degree in Bass Clarinet at Codarts in Rotterdam under Henri Bok. During his master’s studies, Iriarte was a member of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Academy and took lessons from solo clarinettist Julien Herve. Iriarte was also part of the National Youth Orchestra of the  Netherlands where he worked with contemporary composer Steve Reich, among others. Iriarte worked as a freelance musician in several orchestras and chamber music groups such as the Basque Country Orchestra, Sugaar Ensemble, Kissar Ensemble, until in 2017 he received a scholarship to the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic, where he spent the whole year playing and studying under Hermann Stephanson and Johan Fransen. Iriarte has worked in the Vaasa City Orchestra since January 2018.