SALVADOR FLORES is an emerging young artist and saxophonist from Houston, TX. His performances have taken him from venues such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the U.S. Capitol Building, the Lincoln Memorial, and the New World Center. Recognized as one of the country's most promising young soloists, he was one of five young artists selected to partake in the Performance Today Young Artist in Residence program. Through this, he engaged in a week of performances, recordings and interviews on America's most popular classical music radio program Performance Today hosted by Fred Child.
Salvador has garnered many prestigious awards over the course of his career, including most recently being named the second saxophonist to ever receive the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance's most distinguished performance award, the Albert A. Stanley Medal, after GRAMMY-award Saxophonist Timothy McAllister. Other achievements of his include being named the 1st Prize Winner of the 2020 North American Saxophone Alliance Collegiate Classical Solo Competition, a 2020 Yamaha Young Performing Artist, the winner of the 2020 University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance Concerto Competition, the winner of the 2020 National Collegiate Solo Competition hosted by the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own", the First Prize Winner of the 59th Annual Lima Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition, and a semifinalist in the 2019 Adolphe Sax International Competition, one of the most selective and prestigious competitions for saxophonists around the world. In 2017, Salvador was also named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, earning him an invitation to the White House and performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
As a soloist, he has performed alongside a variety of ensembles, including the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own", the University of Michigan Symphony and Philharmonia Orchestras, the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, the Interlochen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Camerata, and the Galena Park High School Wind Ensemble.
An avid and active chamber musician, Salvador currently serves as the Soprano Chair of the Aero Quartet. The quartet has been named the recipient of many prestigious awards, most notably a Gold Medallist and 1st Prize Winner of the 2021 Fischoff International Chamber Music Competition. They have also been named the 1st Prize Winners of the 2021 Briggs Chamber Music Competition, the 2021 Music Teachers National Association Chamber Music Competition, and the 2021 NOLA Chamber Fest Graduate Competition. The quartet has performed and given masterclasses at various universities, including the University of Michigan, Notre Dame University, University of Wisconsin - Madison, and Thiel College. They have also presented a recital at the Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist in Chicago, which was broadcast live on the Classical 98.7 WFMT radio station. Advocates for new music and collaboration, Aero Quartet has frequently worked with many composers and artists. Some of the composers they have worked with include Jennifer Higdon, Gala Flagello, and Brett L. Wery. They have also collaborated and performed alongside jazz saxophonist Arun Luthra, who currently teaches at the Mannes School of Music in NYC. Aero Quartet will be releasing their debut album on the London-based Orchid Classics Record Label in Summer 2023, featuring music by Alexander Glazunov, Carlos Simon, Guillermo Lago, Arturo Márquez, Paquito D'Rivera, Ed Calle, and John Coltrane.
A multi-disciplined saxophonist, Salvador also performs in the Regional Mexican style with bands generally following the instrumentation of Voice, Saxophone, Accordion, Bajo Sexto, Bass Guitar, and Drum Set. He has toured and recorded in-studio with many musical artists and groups, including Kikin y Los Astros, Revancha Norteña, and Conjunto Azabache, as well as many other local bands area in various locations across the country.
Salvador has completed both a B.M. and M.M. in Saxophone Performance, as well as an M.M. in Improvisation, at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor under the direction of saxophonists Dr. Timothy McAllister and Dr. Andrew Bishop. He is a member of the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" Saxophone Section and performs on Yamaha Saxophones.