Flute Fest 2025

José Valentino is arguably the most decorated cross-genre flutist of our time, equally celebrated as a producer, composer, and entrepreneur. A multi-Latin GRAMMY® Award Winner and four-time Latin GRAMMY® Nominee, including a 2024 nomination for Best Instrumental Album, he is also an EMMY® Award Winner, a 55-time DownBeat® Music Award Winner (record holder), and a 33-time Global Music® Award Winner (record holder). His accolades also include two International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences Anthem® Awards for Best Strategy in Education, Art, and Culture, and 10 Global Genius® Awards, highlighted by the 2024 Grand Prize®. Spanning categories such as concerto, chamber music, jazz, Latin music, children’s music, technical mastery, and composition, Dr. Ruiz’s achievements have cemented his reputation as a global leader in artistic and technical excellence. Valentino's groundbreaking career as a performer and recording artist has taken him to six continents, where he has headlined over 1,400 concerts in prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall (twice), and at world-renowned festivals with artists like Chick Corea, Paquito D'Rivera, Alex Acuña, Aaron Neville, War, and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, to name a few. His award-winning discography includes more than 30 solo albums, such as Claude Bolling Goes Latin: Suite for Flute & Latin Music Ensemble; We Are One: An Exploration of Latin American Music (with co-artist Jim Walker); Embarkation: The Resiliency of Humanity Amid COVID-19 (the most listened-to flute album of 2021); and the groundbreaking Found Connections: Concerto for Multi-Instrumentalist & Wind Symphony. These works have earned him a Global Music® Gold Medal Award for Excellence in the Instrumentalist, Composer, and Production categories, alongside the Beethovinci® International Music Competition Grand Prize®. His performance in Found Connections was also peer-reviewed and published by the College Music Society® as one of the best performances of 2024 by university professors worldwide. His artistry has been celebrated across major GRAMMY® categories, including Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Winning composition: Sacre), Best Latin Jazz Album (Nominated album: I Make You Want To Move), Best Christian Album in Spanish (2-time Winning albums' flutist: Todo Pasa; Viviré), Best Latin Children’s Album (Winning album: A La Fiesta de la Música Vamos Todos), and Best Instrumental Album (3 Nominated Albums: TRES; Mosaico; Claude Bolling Goes Latin). As a producer and entrepreneur, Valentino has significantly impacted the music industry through his leadership at JV Music Enterprises, where he has produced over 150 albums, 10 documentaries, and numerous award-winning media productions. His historic children’s album A La Fiesta de la Música Vamos Todos was featured in the GRAMMY® Museum’s Multi-Museum Exhibition, marking a landmark moment in the genre. In recognition of his entrepreneurial excellence, he has received Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business® Award for Video and Power Partner® Award for B2B Services, and his innovative contributions have been spotlighted in Fast Company®, The Economist®, USA Today®, Billboard®, Rolling Stone®, and Fortune Magazine®. His productions have also reached global audiences on platforms like Netflix® and CNN Entertainment®, underscoring his influence in music and digital media. Valentino's influence extends into academia, where he has pioneered transformative approaches to arts entrepreneurship and education. As Founder, Director, and Tenured Associate Professor of the University of Florida’s Music Business & Entrepreneurship Program, he has developed a groundbreaking model for cultivating future arts leaders. His scholarly contributions include over 130 peer-reviewed research articles and 110+ keynotes at prominent conferences, including numerous performances at the National Flute Association and the World Flute Society. He also serves as Expert Columnist in Music Business & Creative Enterprise Leadership at Fflat Books and as Director of Global Entrepreneurship Initiatives at the Global Institute for Music Research, where he is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Music Entrepreneurship and Leadership. For more information, contact Valentino at hello@josevalentino.com.