Irune Martínez de Santos is a Spanish orchestral conductor and artistic coordinator based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque Country. Her professional activity brings together orchestral conducting, artistic leadership, education and the development of international musical projects.

Since 2019, she has conducted the Symphony Orchestra of the Jesús Guridi Professional Conservatory of Music, where she is responsible for its artistic and pedagogical direction, repertoire preparation and concert projects. Between 2019 and 2025, she also led several instrumental and vocal ensembles at the institution and held responsibilities in departmental coordination.

Since 2023, Irune has worked alongside conductor Miguel Romea as Assistant Conductor and Artistic Coordinator, contributing to the preparation, organisation and artistic development of professional and educational projects. Her work includes the coordination of MROCI international conducting courses and competitions in Bulgaria, bringing together conductors from different countries for intensive orchestral training and public performance.

She is the founder and Music Director of Eresia Project Orchestra, created in 2021 for concerts, premieres and recording projects, including a production broadcast by EITB. Her wider artistic experience includes collaborations with the Vitoria-Gasteiz and Bilbao municipal bands, the Vratsa Symphony Orchestra and Tampere Conservatory, as well as symphonic, choral and interdisciplinary projects in Spain, France, Finland and Bulgaria.

Irune studied Orchestral Conducting and Piano at Musikene, where her conducting professor was Enrique García Asensio. She later completed a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting and studied Film Scoring at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her international development has included active participation in conducting programmes with Marin Alsop in Ireland and New York, Neil Thomson and Scott Weiss in Los Angeles, and Neil Thomson in London, together with ongoing training and mentorship with Miguel Romea.

Her work is guided by a collaborative understanding of leadership: combining musical clarity and disciplined rehearsal with trust, communication and a shared sense of artistic purpose.