Txemi Etxebarria was born in the Basque Country (Spain) but lives now in Belgium for 20 years. He studied composition in Maastricht with Jef Penders and later graduated in Master Horn and Master Orchestral Conducting at the Maastricht Conservatory with Enrico Delamboye and Jan Stulen and also at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with Ivo Venkov.

Since November 2023, Txemi Etxebarria is chief conductor of the Philips Symphony Orchestra (Eindhoven).

He has worked with several orchestras: Philzuid (Netherlands), Staatorchester Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz (Germany), Symphony Orchestra of the National Opera & Ballet Oleg Danovsky (Romania), Pleven Philharmonic (Bulgaria), Opera Comique Maastricht and the Banda Municipal de Bilbao (Spain).

He will make his debut with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra in 2025.

Since 2011, he is also conductor of the contemporary music ensemble CoMA Maastricht and the wind bands TOG-Welten and St. Aemilian Bleijerheide.

He won 3rd prize at the “Citta' Di Brescia Giancarlo Facchinetti” (Italy), 2nd prize at the Artur Nikisch International Competition (Bulgaria) and 1st prize at the 4th International Orchestral Conducting Competition in Bilbao (Spain).