Ana Irene Rodrigues, born in Venezuela in 1986, daughter of emigrants, at the age of five she went to live in Madeira Island in Portugal.

After concluding her studies at the elementary school, she decided to continue her secondary studies specialized in saxophone; under the guidance of Duarte Basílio, she finished in 2004 the Professional Course of Instrument at the Conservatory-Professional School of the Arts of Madeira (CEPAM). Integrated in the Professional Course, she took one-semester internship at the Porto Superior Arts School (ESMAE), under the guidance of the saxophone teachers Manuel Silva and Henk van Twillert.

Following directly into the bachelors, at the age of seventeen years old, she continued her studies in the Netherlands, where she completed her degree at the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor Kunsten - Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA); She was accepted in the saxophone class of Henk van Twillert and later transfered to Arno Bornkamp´s class. During her degree she joined the ERASMUS program in Milano, where he studied under the guidance of  Mario Marzi, at the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppi Verdi.

During her career she travel through Europe, to be present in several master-classs, workshops and festivals where she had the honor of been thought by great Artists and Pedagogues in the area of ​​the saxophone such as Jean-Marie Londeix, Claude Delangle, Vincent David, Jean-Dennis Michat, Fernando Ramos, Carlos Canhoto, João Pedro Silva, João Figueiredo, Gilberto Bernardes, Jean-Ives Formeau , Nicolas Prost, Francisco Martinez, Brandford Marsalis, Gil Meijering, Otis Murphy and Tjako van Schie, in addition to Henk van Twillert, Arno Bornkamp and Mario Marzi. 

 

In the course of her career she has been an interpreter, soloist and leader, in several groups of chamber music, such as follows: 

Under the guidance of Duarte Basílio and Aquilino Silva, she joined the CEPAM’s Saxophone-Quartet & Ensemble, the Wind Orchestra and the Big Band (2001/04).

In Amsterdam she was the leader of the saxophone quartet HBQuartet(2006/07) and with João Paulo Henriques the DuoSensu(2009/10), saxophone and guitar duet, which resulted in a work recorded on CD. With these two projects she toured in various cities in Holland, including Amsterdam, Maastricht, Spakenburg and Edam.

During her ERASMUS in Milan (2008), with Justyna Jarzab on the piano, she formed DuoSpadari.

With the goal of performing in her bachelor’s final exam she created a trio with cello and piano (2010). 

With some of these groups, Irene has performed in several European concert halls, including the Musiekgebouw in Amsterdam, the Helena Sá e Costa Theater in Porto and the Municipal Theater Baltazar Dias, in Funchal.

Participated in four sessions of the International Saxophone Week in Amsterdam, two of which as a member of the organization.

After an arm injury that made Ana Irene stop playing the saxophone, for almost two years during her career, she finished her Bachelor’s degree in 2010 and later - Portugal - her master's degree, in 2016.

Back in Madeira Island since 2010, where she is currently living. She is one of the saxophone teachers at the Conservatory - Professional School of the Arts of Madeira, Eng. Luíz Peter Clode (CEPAM).

As part of her performing career, she brought together three major projects: 

Dance and Music improvisation: "Uma Sopra Outra Mexe". (2010)

Chamber Music Trio (2011) with violinist Sandra Sá and pianist Giancarlo Mongelli: "Trio Allegro Giocoso". 

At the end of 2012, with Nubélia Fernandes, the project dedicated to the contemporary repertoire for saxophone duet: "saxINduo".

In 2014, she was honored to receive the invitation of the Classical Orchestra of Madeira (ANSA), under the guidance of the conductor Martin Andre, to perform Concerto Op. 109 of the composer Alexander Glazunov for saxophone and string orchestra, at the Teatro Municipal Baltazar Dias. This concert was part of a major Festival names "Festival de Música da Madeira", as well as the celebration of Adolphe Sax´s major creation: the saxophone.

From the beginning of her teaching activity, Irene Rodrigues seeks to keep up to date and informed about the new practices and methodologies of the saxophone, participating in master-classes, workshops, lectures, training in a wide variety of pedagogical areas, in order to enrich the knowledge and tools to teach.