Bio

Telesmar Sanchez is a Manhattan-based jazz guitarist, composer, and music educator. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Telesmar began playing the guitar at the age of 6. After discovering his passion for jazz in high school, Telesmar went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in jazz guitar performance at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied guitar with Bruce Saunders and played in AIME, the downbeat-winning graduate small ensemble led by John Fremgen. Soon after, Telesmar moved to Los Angeles where he received an MFA in jazz guitar studies at CalArts. There, he studied under LA jazz guitar legend Larry Koonse as well as Darek Oleszkiewicz, Logan Richardson, Jonathan Pinson, Vardan Ovsepian, Steve Lehman, and Miroslav Tadic.

During his time in Austin, Telesmar performed and collaborated with many of Austin’s finest jazz musicians including Andre Hayward, Adam Jackson, Miles Wick, Gene Centeno, Matthew Maldonado, James Suter, Ryan Hagler, Daniel Sanchez, Christian Wiggs, and Cameron Riggs at various music venues in the Austin area including the Elephant Room and Monks Jazz Club. In 2021, Telesmar completed his debut recording project as a bandleader and composer, a suite of original music entitled Cosmic Music inspired by Italo Calvino’s short story collection Cosmicomics, currently available on all streaming platforms. After moving to Los Angeles in 2022, Telesmar has performed with various Los Angeles-based jazz musicians including Glenn Cashman, Barclay Moffitt, Peter Gemus, Izaak Weatherwax, Weldon Scott, Sean Lynch, Angelo Velasquez, Ethan Furman, and Eilish Wilson.

Telesmar also maintains an active teaching studio as a freelance music educator. Offering personalized curriculum for each student based on their goals and interests, he has taught students of all ages and styles, both in-person and online in Austin, Los Angeles, NYC, and beyond.