Maria Martinez was born in Madrid and started learning the cello at the age of three. She began her studies in Brussels and continued in Antwerpen, Belgium. After completed her Bachelors Degree in “Trinity College of Music” in London and the German Diploma at the world renown Koeln Musikhochschule, she went on to pursue MM with Janos Starker at renown Indiana University Jacobs Scool of Music in Bloomington, Indiana. She has also studied with Sabine Delporte, Natalia Pavlutskaya, Ilya Laporev, Thomas Schmitz, Stanley Ritchey (baroque cello) and Claus Kanngiesser.

Maria has taken part in Master classes with William Conway, Susan Sheppard, Gordon Back, Ralph Kirshbaum, Alexander Ivashkin, Anner Bylsma , Daniel Muller-Schott, Andrej Bauer, Janos Starker , Johannes Goritzki, Philippe Müller, Lluis Claret and Steven Isserlis.

At the age of thirteen, Maria was awarded the “Richard Kips” prize for being “a student gifted with an outstanding musical sensitivity”. In 2003 she was “Highly Commended” in “the Vera Kantrovitch” competition and “Leonard Smith” competition in 2006. One year later she won the “Vera Kantrovitch” competition, performing the fifth suite by J.S Bach. In addition Maria has performed with Goldsmiths Orchestra, Loughborough Orchestra and Belgian Professional Orchestra “Charlemagne” (under Bartholomeus Van de Velde).

Maria has performed extensively through Europe and in important venues such as St Martin in the Fields, Blackheath Halls, Cheltenham Town Hall, Deptford Town Hall,St.Johns in Notting Hill and La Granja de San Ildefonso. In Ferbuary 2008 Maria premiered a cello sonata written for her by Ken Paige, a pianist and former teacher at Trinity College of Music (London).

Currently Maria lives in Bloomington, Indiana.