Jesus J. Martinez is a composer, educator, and administrator in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is a graduate from the University of Texas at Arlington in Music Education, and completed his master’s in music composition at Southern Methodist University.
ASN: Like many musicians I interview, you wear several hats. Tell us about what you’re up to lately.
JM: I am the percussion director at South Grand Prairie High School. I am also the Executive Director of EMERGE Coalition, Inc. and I am a freelance composer. So yes, lots of hats! In the education world, my percussion ensemble was one of three winners for the International Percussive Ensemble Competition (IPEC) in 2024, where we then performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC). Our band was one of five Wind Ensemble’s selected to perform at The Midwest Clinic this upcoming December 2025.
As the Executive Director of EMERGE, we just completed our 4th season of our OFF the Beaten Path concert season. This past year was titled “EMERGE:Pages” that focused heavily on education and storytelling. We are about to release and announce our 5th season over the next couple of weeks that will feature our first in-person New Music Readings Concert and Workshop for composers this 25-26 season.
As a composer, I am focused on a few commissions that range from chamber ensemble to full orchestra. My main focus the last several years as a composer has been to continue to branch out and compose works that are very immersive and multi-disciplinary. One of my last works, “Feet of Clay,” was for string quartet and tuned clay pots. It was a lot of fun and a great experience as it helped me push some boundaries that I hadn’t done before.
ASN: How do you organize yourself and your time between these different activities?
JM: It is very very difficult! I think I average about 72 hours a week as a percussion director, plus 20 hours or so of EMERGE administrative work, and finally some creative work with my compositions. Not to mention my home responsibilities. My wife is so incredibly supportive and I have a soon-to-be nine year old. So it seems like every hour of my day is taken up!
I usually get home around 7:30 from my work at the school. I do about 1-2 hours of work for EMERGE during the week and a little more on the weekends, and then I do my best to do between 45 minutes to 1 hour of composition work a day. I am not always successful when it comes to the last two, but it evens out throughout the week. The most important part of having a busy schedule is your ability to adapt to change, and believe it or not, your best laid plans never go the way you want them to. So my advice: get used to it and roll with the punches!
ASN: Can you tell us about how you started the Emerge Coalition?
JM: I had just completed my second commission and performance of 3 Hours in Dallas, a live film score for percussion ensemble and solo trumpet, for The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in commemoration of the 56th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. The first commission I had with the museum, The Sixth Floor, was for string quartet, premiered by The Julius Quartet. Right after the 3 Hours in Dallas concert, The Julius Quartet and I met for a catch-up dinner. We had a great relationship and wanted to continue to work together. At first, we thought we could do a series of concerts together. We met online a few times in March 2020. COVID immediately happened, and there was a lot of uncertainty about when we would be commencing in-person activities. We thought that quarantine would end in a few weeks, so we went ahead and began to incorporate and build out our programming. Little did we know what was going to happen with COVID, and essentially, it’s a full shutdown. We shifted quickly and realized that there was a huge need for a reading and recording workshop for composers who were in their final semester before final capstone projects or graduate applications were due. We began a little out of order and launched our EMERGE 3-Day Virtual Workshop and Readings. This was a really unique project and different from other reading workshops. The Julius Quartet spent time working on each piece that was selected so that when the readings occurred, the pieces were prepared and essentially ready for any small edits or feedback the composer had. Each composer had a 20-minute time slot, and at the end of the workshop, each composer received a high-quality recording as well as a video recording of their pieces.
Over the last five years, EMERGE has worked with over fifty composers worldwide and are planning to launch its first in-person workshops for our 25-26 season. We also began our first in-person concerts called the OFF the Beaten Path Concert Series in 2021 and programmed four concert programs to be performed twice, so eight total concerts. We average about ten to twelve a year with other opportunities such as the AT&T ELEVATOR PROJECT, throughout the season. Since its inception, we have presented over forty concerts and programmed over 50% of works by living and BIPOC composers worldwide. We are about to enter our 5th season of our series.
The “why” is our biggest reason to do it. As a composer myself, I found it difficult to have my works performed here in the Dallas area. There is definitely a need for more diverse voices to present and perform their works and I really do believe that the Dallas community is ready to embrace its local talent. It has been incredibly rewarding to continue to provide a platform for our emerging artists and voices.
ASN: How did you get the team on board and how do you divide responsibilities to get things done?
JM: We all have our general titles like anyone in a nonprofit would have, but our responsibilities seem to be a bit more than the title. We have 8 total board members.
As the Executive Director, I am responsible for managing the board of directors, the senior grant writer, I collaborate with the creative directors to program the next season or two, and help manage the bills. Our Vice President, Treasurer, and Marketing director are also creative directors who help round out the program and season’s theme. We also have an operations manager who deals with venue set ups, ticketing, and some marketing. Though we all have dedicated roles, everyone helps and pitches in when they can on grants, ticket sales, merchandise sales, grant writing, website design, etc. We are a very collaborative group.
ASN: What advice do you have about starting a non-profit music organization? What big things have you learned along the way?
JM: Some things I learned along the way:
- You don’t have to be incorporated right away to start a performing arts organization. My advice: start your programs in communities that know you and your work. Build a community and following so that you have a good support system before venturing into the crazy nonprofit world. It is much easier to have successful programs when you have a good foundation of support.
- Be brave: You will make a lot of mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make them. The best way to learn is by doing and learning from those mistakes. Don’t be afraid to seek advice and always be willing to adapt, so you can grow into a successful performing arts organization.
- Diversify your board and advisors. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. In my case, that is everyone! Invite a variety of people with different thoughts and opinions that differ from yours, but all with the same mission and goals in mind. Your board should be a healthy mix of outstanding people who would classify themselves as creatives, math and tech wizards, optimists, and realists.
- To quote a friend, mentor, and incredible teacher, Dr. Jeremy Earnhart, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” Don’t forget where your roots are. What did your organization set out to do? Did you serve your community the way you intended? It is not about the money, the notoriety, or the performance of a really difficult program, but the powerful impact your organization created and provided to its community members and supporters. Don’t forget your love of the arts and its ability to mold past, current, and future generations of concert goers and supporters.
Thanks for sharing your insights and experience, Jesus! Readers, check out some of the work that Jesus and his colleagues at EMERGE have produce on their YouTube channel.
