José Valente was born in Lisbon in 1989. He began his musical studies at the age of 10, under the guidance of Professor Paulo Jorge Ferreira, at the Conservatório Municipal D. Dinis, Odivelas. At 18, he was admitted at Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco (ESART). In this school, he completed his Master in Music, in Accordion Specialization, in March 2013, under the guidance of teachers Paulo Jorge Ferreira and Maria Luísa Correia Castilho.
José won several awards at national level: 1st prize at Concurso de Acordeão de Castelo Branco – Folefest (2008, junior category); 1st prize also at contest Folefest (2009, senior and chamber music category and 2012, chamber music category), 1st prize at 6º Concurso de Jovens Intérpretes de Caldas da Rainha (2009) and 1st prize at contest Prémio Jovens Músicos (concert accordion category, advanced level), also getting in this last contest the European Union of Music Competitions for Youth prize and one Bolsa Gulbenkian from Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian . He was the first soloist accordionist to recieve the EMCY prize. He also won the 3rd prize at the international contest Accordion Coupe Mondiale, in Scotland (2008, chamber music category). He has collaborated with Orquestra Gulbenkian, Orquestra Sinfónica Metropolitana and Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, under the baton of great conductors Cesário Costa, Pedro Carneiro and Olari Elts. He attended master classes led by renowned accordionists, including Frédéric Deschamps, Friedrich Lips, Geir Draugsvoll, Mika Väyrynen, Paulo Jorge Ferreira, Vojin Vasovic and Yuri Shishkin. He has performed concerts abroad the country, particularly in Casa da Música, Centro Cultural de Belém, Gulbenkian, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Palácio Foz, Palácio da Independência, Salão Nobre do Conservatório Nacional de Lisboa, among many other places.