Mauricio Paez, born in Costa Rica, studied the bassoon with Dr. William Dietz in the Costa Rican OSN Youth Program and with Mordechai Rechtman at Tel Aviv University after immigrating to Israel in 1985. He is the founder of the New Wind Quintet of Israel, Principal Bassoon of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem, Professor of Bassoon at the Israeli Music Conservatory in Tel Aviv, Head of the Wind and Percussion Department of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Givat Ram, Director of the Woodwind Workshop at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University.

His students today hold important positions in orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, the Israeli Beer Sheva Symphony, Panama University, Guatemala Symphony Orchestra among others.

As soloist and orchestral player he has performed with the Israel Philharmonic, the Costa Rican OSN, the Guatemalan OSN, the Bogota Philharmonic, the Belgrade Philharmonic and the Jerusalem Camerata under the direction of conductors including Mehta, Abbado, Maazel, and Gergiev, among others. In chamber music he has collaborated with Daniel Baremboim, Emmanuel Pahud, Maurice Bourgue, Kiril Gerstein, Ramón Ortega, Frank Cohen, and Shlomo Mintz at festivals such as Schleswig Holstein, Davos, Postdam, Rolandseck, Jerusalem Festival.

In 1988 he received the Françoise Shapira Award for Young Talents in Israel, in 2004 the Benyamini Chamber Music Award granted by the Government of Israel, in 2012 the National Music Award for Interpreters of Costa Rica, in addition to annual awards granted by the American Israel Cultural Foundation.

He is performing artist for Puchner.