José Carlos Xavier

As a student of the Lisbon National Conservatory of Music, tenor José Carlos Xavier studied singing, particularly with Cristina de Castro. At a very young age, he joined the Choir of São Carlos National Theatre. He made his debut as a soloist at that theatre, interpreting roles in the operas "Miguel Mañara", “Der Rosenkavalier”, "Rigoletto", "Fedora", "Louise" and "Dona Mécia". At the invitation of conductor Michel Corboz, he joined the Chamber Music Group of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and sang as a solo performer in Spain and Italy. He was a scholar of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for five years, which he spent in Italy at the Liceo G. B. Viotti, in Vercelli and where, supervised by Zita Fumagalli, he successfully graduated in Singing, obtaining the highest classification and a summa cum laude mention by the panel. José Carlos Xavier chose to live in Italy. He sang at a wide range of music festivals, such as Aix-en-Provence, Toulon (where he was considered best vocal participant in the concert by Le Figaro’s critic Clarendon), Tuscany, the 1st Music Festival of Lagos, Vilar de Mouros and Kriens Music Festival (Lucerne). In the field of opera, he played, among others, Ernesto in "Don Pasquale”, Peppe in "I Pagliacci", Des Grieux in "Manon Lescaut”, Werther in “Werther”, and, more recently, Tamino in "Die Zauberflöte", with the Kammeroper in Zollikofen. Together with the Association "Amici della Lirica", he performed several recitals in various Italian cities and also abroad. Upon his return to Portugal, José Carlos Xavier started to collaborate regularly with the Secretary of State for Culture and gave recitals on a national scale. He gave performances in Macao, as well as in India, Japan and Thailand. He commercially recorded a cycle of “Troubadour Songs” by Frederico de Freitas and a cycle of originals by F. Lopes Graça. He also recorded for RTP (Portuguese Broadcasting Corporation) and for RTE – Spanish Television, as well as for the Portuguese and French National Broadcast Radio Companies. He teaches singing courses at the Lisbon National Conservatory of Music, where he has supervised some of the most prominent Portuguese young lyrical singers. He is the founder and the president of the “Luísa Todi National Singing Competition” (seven editions) and a frequent member of panels at national and international competitions, namely the Rio de Janeiro Theatro Municipal Singing Competion, in September 2010.
(from text by José Carlos Xavier)

José Corvelo

Baritone José Corvelo completed his advanced singing studies at Escola Superior de Música e das Artes do Espectáculo, in Porto, Portugal, with José de Oliveira Lopes. He attended master-classes under the guidance of Fernanda Correia, Oliveira Lopes, Rudolf Knoll, Lamara Tchekónia, Liliana Bizineche, Francisco Lázaro, Enza Ferrari, Jorge Vaz de Carvalho, Ambra Vespesiani, Ettore Nova and Daniel Muñoz. José Corvelo is now one of the most sought-after Portuguese baritones. In 2000 he began a regular collaboration as a soloist with Circulo Portuense de Ópera, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Orquestra do Norte and The Portuguese Opera Company. There he made important debuts such as Uberto, Bartolo, Figaro, Leporello, Germont, Monterone, Escamillo, Sharpless, Alfio, Tonio/Taddeo and many others. He took part in the world première of Eurico Carrapatoso’s A Floresta (The Forest, 2004, Teatro São Luis, Lisboa – co-production with Teatro Nacional de São Carlos) and recorded in DVD Carrapatoso’s O Lobo Diogo e o mosquito Valentim (Diogo the Wolf and Valentim the Mosquito, Casa da Música, Porto). His vast concert repertoire includes oratorio, masses and lieder. He has worked with distinguished scene directors and with conductors such as M. Tardue, J. Reynolds, Ferreira Lobo, Félix Carrasco, Osvaldo Ferreira, R. Giovaninetti, Martin André, Zsolt Hamar, NikŠa Bareza, R. Manfredini, N. Giusti, Enrico Dovico, César Viana, J. Paulo Santos, C.Bochmann, Ivo Cruz, R. Massena, G. Andreoli, Cesário Costa, G. Arglebe, António V. Lourenço, Emílio de César, R. Perez, J. Willig, M. Letonja, G. Bülh and many others.
(text by José Corvelo)

Tiago Derriça

Composer Tiago de Sousa Derriça was born in Lisbon in 1986. He started his musical studies at age seven, then he attended the CMML (Metropolitan Conservatory) where he studied Cello with Eugen Prochác, Peter Flanagan and João Pires. During this period of time he had Composition lessons with the composer Pedro Faria Gomes. In 2004, 2007 and 2008 Tiago Derriça attended Leiria Summer Conducting Workshop with Jean-Sébastien Béreau. He also took part of the Second National Workshop of the OSAM (Metropolitan Academic Orchestra) with the conductor Michael Zilm. He graduated in Composition at the ESML (Lisbon College of Music), where he studied with João Madureira, Luís Tinoco, Sérgio Azevedo, Vasco Azevedo, Roberto Perez, Benoît Gibson, António Pinho Vargas and others. Tiago was admitted at the UE (Évora University) where he is studying Composition with Christopher Bochmann. His works has been performed by various chamber groups, as well as the OSL (Lisbon Sinfonieta Orchestra), OML (Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra), EUCO (European Union Chamber Orchestra), Ricercare Choir and NOL (Lisbon New Orchestra) where he is composer-in-residence.(text by Tiago Derriça)

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Tiago Derriça's "Diaphonia" by Lisbon Sinfonietta, cond. Vasco Pearce de Azevedo (2nd Renaissance of Portuguese Composition project on You Tube):

Susana Santos Silva

Susana Santos Silva was born in Porto in the year of 1979. She holds a Graduate Diploma in Jazz/Trumpet ‘2008 from the College of Music and Performing Arts in Porto. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Trumpet´2004 from the same school, finishing the course at the Stlaatliche Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe in Reinhold Friedrich´s Class, where she also had lessons with Prof. Edward Tarr, Klaus Schuwerk and Klaus Braker. She is a member of the European Movement Jazz Orchestra, with whom she toured in Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Belgium and Portugal, Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos, LAMA Trio, leads her own Quintet, freelances and records with other projects in different musical styles.She participated on Master Classes and Seminars with names such as John Aigi Hurn, Charles Buttler, Eric Aubier, Pierre Thibeau, Pasi Pirinen, Philip Smith, Pierre Dutot, Adolph Herseth, Robert Astre. She played with several orchestras such as Orquestra Académica do Porto, Sinfonieta do Porto, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Filarmonia das Beiras, Remix e Orquestra de Jovens da Casa da Musica. She participated in some Workshops with Jon Faddis, Cecil Bridgewater, Alex Sipiagin, Orrin Evans, Richie Beirach, Greg Osby, Jason Lindner, Mark Turner, Chris Cheek, Ohad Talmor, Dan Weiss, and others. As part of Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos, she records Portology featuring Lee Konitz and OJM Invites Chris Cheek, and plays with Mark Turner, Rich Perry, John Riley, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Bob Berg, Rick Margitza, Perico Sambeat, Conrad Herwig, Ingrid Jensen, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dan Weiss, Gerald Clever, John Hollenbeck, Theo Bleckman, Jordi Rossi, Eric Vloeimans among others. The orchestra has been playing on the jazz festivals all over Portugal and in Milano, Brussels and New York. With Carlos Azevedo Ensemble records Lenda. She is now attending a Master in Jazz Performance in Codarts, Rotterdam, where she works with Eric Vloeimans, Jarmo Hoogendijk and Wim Both.

(text by Susana Santos Silva)

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Luís Tinoco

Luís Tinoco (b. 1969, Lisbon) made his First Degree in composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa. He was then awarded with scholarships by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Centro Nacional de Cultura to complete a Masters degree in Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, in London. At the RAM he was awarded with the Edward Echt, Mosco Carner, Battison Haynes, Charles Lucas and the Howard Carr Memorial Prize. Currently he is doing a PhD research at the University of York. Since 1999, Tinoco has lectured Composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa. For the Portuguese Classical radio – RTP Antena 2, he wrote and presented A Century’s Score - from 2000 to 2003 -, and he is the author of The Geography of Sound, for the same radio, on air since 2004. Also for the RTP he is the artistic director of the Young Musicians Prize. Tinoco’s work has been recorded on CD by the Arditti Quartet (UK); Galliard Ensemble (UK); Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Canada); John Wallace / Royal Scottish Academy Brass, (UK); Apollo Saxophone Quartet, (UK); QuadQuartet (PT) and by Pedro Carneiro (UK). A CD devoted to his chamber works performed by the Ensemble Lontano, conducted by Odaline de La Martinez (Lorelt Records), was launched in November 2005 at the Purcell Room / South Bank Centre, in London. Future CD releases include a new recording with the Arditti String Quartet and the percussionist Pedro Carneiro, on the Dutch label Etcetera, in Feb. 2010. Tinoco’s orchestral music has been regularly commissioned, performed and / or programmed by various orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Turin Philharmonic, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, Oporto National Orchestra and the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra. Amongst other, Tinoco’s music has been conducted by (in alphabetical order) Martin Andre, Stefan Asbury, René Bosc, Joana Carneiro, Cesário Costa, Cliff Colnot, Sarah Ioannides, Susanna Malkki, Odaline de La Martinez, David Alan Miller, Ludovic Morlot, Donato Renzetti, Peter Rundel, Jonathan Stockhammer, Yaron Traub, Tapio Tuomela and Ilan Volkov. Recent projects have included Search Songs and …from the Depth of Distance - two song cycles for soprano and symphony orchestra; and Evil Machines - a music theatre project with libretto and stage direction by the former Monty Python Terry Jones. Future projects include the premiere of Paint Me, a chamber opera with libretto by Stephen Plaice. Luís Tinoco’s music is published in the UK since 2005, by the University of York Music Press.

(text by Luís Tinoco)

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Pedro Rego

Pedro Rego was born in Canelas, Estarreja. He studied Saxophone in the class of Professor Fernando Valente in the Calouste Gulbenkian Conservatory of Music of Aveiro, where he integrated the Aveiro Saxophone Quartet and Big Band. He also attented the Saxophone Courses in Aveiro with the Amsterdam Saxophone Quartet. At the same time he also participated in Jazz Workshops with the Quarteto Carlos Martins, Carlos Barreto and Zé Eduardo. In 1995 he attented the I Course of Chamber Music in Aveiro with Teacher Jaime Mota and in 1996 won a national public TV Prize of the Saxophone Class of the Aveiro Conservatory of Music. In Lisbon he attented the Hot Club Portugal School of Jazz and the VI Workshop of Jazz of Loures. He also participated in the Seminars “Musical Development for children” and “Psychology of Music” and “Musical Education” with Edwin Gordon in FCSH of the New University of Lisbon, and in the Seminar “Music and Movement” according to Orff-Schulwerk guided by Teacher Verena Maschat in the Superior School of Education of Lisbon. He attended saxophone Masterclasses with Teachers Henk Van Twillert, Mário Marzi and Claude Delangle. He collaborated with several Wind Bands of the north area of the country. He was member of Glup Swing Orchestra in Aveiro, he took part in Big Villas Band of Hot Club of Portugal, Big Band Almada Cool and he also collaborated with the Didactic Orchestra of the Foco Musical. Since 1998, he’s been teaching Saxophone in the Regional Conservatory of Setúbal, where he created the SetSax Quartet. He also teaches Musical Education in the Portuguese Musical Youth, of which he’s Pedagogic Coordinator and General Secretary. In 2006 he was invited to teach the Saxophone class in Ourearte School of Music and Arts of Ourém, where he guided the First Seminary of Wind Band of Ourém. He has also founded the Ourearte Saxophone Quartet. He took the Inatel Course of Musical Conducting with Conductors José Brito, Alberto Roque and René Castelain, attended Masterclasses of Conducting with Conductors José Ignácio Petit, Robert Houlihan, Rodolfo Aglimbeni, Félix Hauswirth, José Pascual Vilaplana, Jacob of Haan and Douglas Bostock. Since October 2006 he’s been ahead of Philarmonic Society Palmelense "Loureiros"’ Wind Band and takes part of Loureiros’ Big Band and of Barreiro School of Jazz Big Band and he collaborates with DJ JH in Chillout Music. (adapted from text by Pedro Rego)
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Francisco Monteiro

Pianist Francisco Monteiro started his musical studies as a pupil Helena Costa’s in Porto – Portugal, entering later the local music conservatory where he achieved the Superior Piano Course with honour. He is graduated by the Musik Universität Wien – Austria (piano concert class by Noel Flores), the University of Coimbra – Portugal (Master Degree in Musicology) and the University of Sheffield (Ph.D. – Contemporary Music). He also studied analysis and composition with Cândido Lima, Álvaro Salazar (Porto) and Gottfried Scholtz (Vienna – Austria), conducting with Jean-Claude Hartemann and piano interpretation with Marie-Françoise Bucquet (Paris). He took part in several master classes with Vlado Perlemutter, Natalie Pepin, Anne Koscielny, Joseph Palenicek, Moura Castro and Jorg Demus among others. Awarded in national piano competitions, his activity as a pianist includes both solo and chamber presentations. Although is repertoire embraces works from the XVIII century until our days, he is mainly devoted to the 20th century and Portuguese music: he presented premières of works of C. Lima, J. Peixinho, A. Salazar, António Sousa Dias, Fernando Lapa, Christopher Bochmann, Terry W. Owens, Carlos Azevedo, Armando Santiago, Clotilde Rosa, Eurico Carrapatoso and Pedro Rocha. He took part in the Festivals of Udine, Transimeno Lake and Cagliary SpazioMusica (Italy), Essen Contemporary Music Festival (Germany), Bogotá Music Festival (Colombia), Valencia’s and Logroño’s Contemporary Music Festivals (Spain), Baku Music Festival (Romenia), Costa Verde Music Festival, Gulbenkian Contemporary Music Encounters, and the Music Festivals of Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra and Lisbon (Portugal). He also played solo in France, Austria, Italy, Belgium, U.S.A., Germany and in the U.K.. Francisco Monteiro recorded for the Portuguese national radio and television and the CDs "Exposed on the cliffs of the heart" - piano music of Terry Winter Owens and “Lov” – flute, cello and piano trio, playing music of Crumb, Piazolla, Azevedo and Peixinho. He also took part in many CDs concerning Portuguese contemporary music, with works of J. Peixinho, Clotilde Rosa, Christopher Bochmann, António Pinho Vargas, Álvaro Salazar and others. Together with is career as a performer he maintains a regular activity as a composer. His music is much influenced by the Western classical tradition and avant-garde composers of the sixties, and also by traditional Portuguese rural music and rock music. He is Professor in the Polytechnic Institute of Porto - Portugal (School of Education).

(text by Francisco Monteiro)

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Ana Ester Neves (soprano) and Francisco Monteiro (piano) perform Francisco Monteiro's "O Amor" (one of the "Three Alexandre O'Neill Songs").

Orquestra Jazz de Matosinhos

Created in 1999, the Orquestra de Jazz de Matosinhos is one of the most dynamic orchestras in the Portuguese jazz panorama. Directed by Carlos Azevedo and Pedro Guedes, the orchestra has sought to create its own repertoire as well as organize specific projects with guest performances by soloists, maestros and composers of international renown Through the diversity and imagination involved in the programs presented, the regular release of international recordings and its continuous growth, OJM has managed to reach a level where it is truly a national jazz orchestra. After almost ten years in action a number of events stand out, namely the Porto 2001 closing ceremony, the recreation of Sketches of Spain with the Remix Ensemble, the presentation of Carla Bley’s music, recording the CD Portology with Lee Konitz for the North American label Omnitone, the concerts with Lee Konitz, the CD OJM invites Chris Cheek for Fresh Sound New Talent, the concert with John Hollenbeck, the concert with Dee Dee Bridgewater, the concert in which OJM performed with the Porto National Orchestra, the concert with Kurt Rosenwinkel and also the recent concert with Joshua Redman and Chris Cheek at the inauguration of the Cine-Teatro Constantino Nery in Matosinhos. And OJM has crossed borders, performing in Brussels, Milan and in New York, at the Carnegie Hall, during the JVC Jazz Festival. (text by OJM)

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Emanuel Salvador

Described by the Strad Magazine as “one of the finest Portuguese violinists of his generation”, Emanuel Salvador has already performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader in the U.K., Kazakhstan, Portugal, Holland, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Malta and South Korea. He has been awarded top prizes at Isolde Menges and Beckenham Festival competitions; Barbirolli Memorial and Wolfson; Jovens Músicos; Gulbenkian Foundation Scholarship, Instituto Camões Grants. After graduating from Artave (a specialist music school) as the best student of the year he then moved to London, where he got a BMus from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Professor John Glickman) and a MMus at the Royal College of Music (Dr. Felix Andrievsky). Other professors include Ilya Grubert, David Takeno, Ulf Hoelscher as well as members from Borodin and Takacs Quartets and Peabody and Florestan Piano Trios. As a concerto soloist Emanuel has played with several orchestras including Sinfonica UANL, Rotterdam Ensemble, Newbury Symphony, Norte, Vitalis, Skolia, Nova Amadeus. His festival appearances include Gaia International, Proms in St. Judes and Ampthill and the International String Orchestra Festival in Malta. Since September 2005 Emanuel is the leader of Orquestra do Norte in Portugal. As a guest leader he worked with Seoul Classical Players and Gulbenkian Ensemble.

(text by Emanuel Salvador)

Alexandra Mascolo-David

‘A splendid pianist refined, searching and expressive, and her playing is loaded with insight and interpretative detail’. So wrote The Washington Post, after Alexandra Mascolo-David’s performance at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in the nation’s capital. She has performed and led workshops and master classes in Europe, China, and the Americas, including a New York debut recital at Carnegie Hall in May 2004, which was favorably reviewed in The New York Concert Review. In recent years, she has centered her repertoire around the evocative piano music of Portuguese and Brazilian composers, especially that of Francisco Mignone. She is in the forefront of presenting Mignone’s piano music, and her performances, especially of his ‘Valsas brasileiras’ (Brazilian Waltzes), have been widely acclaimed. She recently received a Research Excellence Grant from Central Michigan University to record Francisco Mignone¹s Fantasias Brasileiras ‘Brazilian Fantasies’ for piano and orchestra with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, under Maestro Raymond Harvey, for the White Pine Music recording label, in a 2010 release. In addition to performing traditional solo and chamber literature, she has also championed works by contemporary American composers Daniel McCarthy, Derek Bermel, David Gillingham, Augusta Read Thomas, and David Maslanka. Noting her performance in David Maslanka’s Piano Concerto No. 1 for Piano, Winds and Percussion, released by Albany Records in 2005, the American Record Guide wrote, ‘Ms. Mascolo-David dispatches the difficult solo part with alarming ease.’ Another CD, featuring music of Latin America for piano and cello with 14 year-old cellist Gabriel Cabezas, winner of the Ninth Sphinx International Competition, was released on the White Pine Music label in February of 2007. Ms. Mascolo-David has recently performed for the Fontana Chamber Arts Summer Festival in Kalamazoo, and for the Irving S. Gilmore Keyboard Festival Summer Camp with Brazilian pianist Rubia Santos, with whom she founded the BelleDonne piano duo. She has taught at the Interlochen Arts camp, at Iowa State University, and currently is Professor of Piano at Central Michigan University. She is also a most sought out and devoted teacher. American and international students attend Central Michigan University, in order to join her studio. Her pupils have won numerous auditions and competitions and they all have achieved much success after graduation. (from text by Alexandra Mascolo-David)

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Alexandra Mascolo-David plays Francisco Mignone's Waltz 12:

Mário Redondo

Born in Lisbon, in 1971, baritone Mário Redondo has a degree in Law, completed the Course for Actors (ESTC), and attended the Singing Course of Lisbon’s Conservatory. Most important professional opera work: “Il Matrimonio Segreto”, D.Cimarosa - Geronimo (T.N.São Carlos, 2000); “Albert Herring”, B. Britten - Sid (T.Aberto, 2002); “Trouble in Tahiti”, L.Bernstein - Sam (Amiens - France, 2003); “Os Fugitivos”, J.E.Rocha (world premiere - T.Trindade, 2004); “Simon Boccanegra”, Verdi - Pietro (TNSC, 2004); “Beggar’s Opera”, Gay/Britten - Lockit (Teatro Aberto, 2005); “The Nose”, Chostakovitch – Ivan Iakovlevitch (TNSC, 2006); “Le Nozze di Figaro”, Mozart - Count (T.Trindade, 2006); “Tosca”, Pucinni - Angelotti (S.Carlos, 2008); and “Fidelio”, Beethoven – D.Fernando (TNSC, 2008). Soloist in: “The Seven Deadly Sins”, Kurt Weill (T.Camões, OSP, 2000); “Swing, Dig The Rhythm”, with music by L.Bernstein (Royaumont - France, 2003); “Mass in B Minor”, Bach (Belfast, 2006); “Night Waltz – the music of Paul Bowles” (CCB, 2007); and “In Terra Pax”, Frank Martin (TNSC, 2008). Has worked since 1992 as a professional actor. Most important works in this area: the plays “Kvetch” (S.Berkoff - T.Trindade, 2004) and “The Misanthrope” (Molière – Lisbon, 2009); and the movies “Sinais de Fogo” (Luís Filipe Rocha, 1994), “Capitães de Abril” (Maria de Medeiros, 1999), and “Amália” (C.Coelho da Silva, 2008). Lately, he’s engaged in a very successful musical theatre career, of which the best examples are “The Threepenny Opera”, in the role of Mack The Knife (T.Aberto, 2005); the world premiere of “Einstein’s Dreams”, by J.Rosemblum and J.S.Lessner, in the role of Einstein (T.Trindade, 2005/2006); the leading role in “Sweeney Todd” (T.Aberto, 2007); and “Evil Machines”, a musical fantasy by Monty Python's Terry Jones with music by Luís Tinoco (T.S.Luiz, 2008). (text by Mário Redondo)

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Sara Braga Simões

Photo: Alfredo Rocha

Soprano Sara Braga Simoes is a winner of several national and international prizes. Operatic Roles include Pamina (Die Zauberflöte - Mozart) Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro – Mozart), Zerlina (Don Giovanni – Mozart), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel - E. Humperdinck), Despina (Così fan Tutte - W.A. Mozart), The Governess (The Turn of the Screw – B. Britten), Spinalba (La Spinalba - F. António de Almeida), Sleeping Beauty (Sleeping Beauty – O. Respighi), Jenny (Three sisters who are not sisters – N. Rorem), Rowan (The Little Sweep - B. Britten). She sang Ein Deutsches Requiem – Brahms, Des Knabem Wunderhorn – Mahler, E vo - Berio, Trois poèmes de Stephan Mallarmé - M.Ravel, Nuits d’étè - H.Berlioz, Te Deum - Dvorack, Madrigals (Book I) - George Crumb, Shîr - João Pedro Oliveira*, D’une saison… l’autre - A. Lemeland*, Lacrymosa - Yanov-Yanovsky, Magnificat, Dixit Dominus and Gloria - A.Vivaldi, The Devil’s Suite - Peter Maxwell Davies, Christmas Oratorio - Saint-Saëns, Stabat Mater - G.B.Pergolesi and Haddock’s Eyes - David Del Tredici. Sara was directed by Martin André, Cesário Costa, Laurence Cummings, Marc Tardue, Osvaldo Ferreira, Stefan Asbury, Peter Rundell, Ferreira Lobo, Manuel Ivo Cruz, Brad Cohen, Peter Birgamin, Armando Vidal, Jaroslav Mikus, Gunther Arglebe, Yoichi Sugyiana, among others. Engagements for this season include her London debut with the world premier of Pedro Amaral’s opera in London: The Dream, Nino Rota’s Aladin (as The Princess) and George Benjamin’s A Mind of winter in Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon). (text by Sara Braga Simões)

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Ana Queirós

Award winner in national and international competitions, portuguese pianist Ana Queirós performs regularly in Portugal, Brazil (Portuguese Music tour in São Paulo, Belém and Vitória), Germany (Neckargemund Klavierwoche, Heidelberg and Weissber Festivals), Spain, Italy (Festival Internazionale de Pianoforte Firenze), USA (New York) and Mozambique (Maputo International Music Festival). A graduate from the Manhattan School of Music, she studied with Luis Pipa, J. Alexandre Reis and Pedro Burmester in Portugal and obtained her Master of Music in Piano Performance degree as a scholarhip student of Dr. Solomon Mikovsky. She also studied in Madrid with Galina Egyazarova and attended masterclasses by Paul Badura-Skoda, Vitaly Margulis, Pierre Reach, Vladimir Viardo, Dimitri Bashkirov, Tania Achot, Laszlo Simon and Charles Spencer, among others, in Germany and Spain. With an intense musical activity, Ana performs regularly in both solo, with orchestra and chamber music concerts. Besides Doppio Ensemble, she is also the founder of TriArt with French composer and percussionist Jean-François Lézé and premiered several works by Portuguese and French composers. She is in the faculty of Braga University and Oporto Music Conservatory and also collaborates with Oporto National Orchestra and ESMAE. Her musical studies have been supported by Manhattan School of Music, Centro Nacional de Cultura and Calouste Gulbenkian Foudation. Next engagements include concerts and masterclasses in Spain, Italy, Germany and USA.
(Text by Ana Queirós)

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Evandra de Brito Gonçalves

Evandra de Brito Gonçalves is one of the most talented portuguese violinists of her generation. She received awards in Portugal and USA, both as a soloist and a chamber musician, playing solo with Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Orquestra das Beiras, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, Sinfonieta do Porto, Orquestra Clássica do Porto, USC Symphonie Orchestra and Northewstern Symphonie Orchestra. She was a student of Gaio Lima, Zofia Wóycicka, Gerardo Ribeiro ( Northwestern University ) and Robert Lipsett ( University of Southern California ). She has also attended masterclasses with Isaac Stern and Augustin Leon Ara, Zakhar Bron, Gerardo Ribeiro, Almita Vamos , among others. At the age of 13 years old, she was accepted has a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, where she had the opportunity to work with musicians such as Leonard Slatkin, M. Rostropovich, Sir Colin Davis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Bernard Haitink, Carlo Maria Giulini and perform in all the major orchestra halls in Europe and South America. While attending Northwestern University ( Chicago ) for her Master Degree, she was Mr. Ribeiro´s teaching assistent. Since she came back to Portugal, she became a member of the Orquestra Nacional do Porto and teacher at the Escola Profissional de Música de Viana do Castelo. She performs regularly with the pianist Ana Queirós, the Doppio Ensemble, formed in 2002. In 2010 Doppio Ensemble will release a CD, and has been invited to perform in Portugal, Spain, USA and Italy. Evandra is also the violinist and co-founder of the prestigious chamber music group Camerata Senza Misura. More recent projects include the trio TriArt ( with pianist Ana Queirós and french percussionist and composer Jean-François Lézé) and the violin trio VioNinas ( with Maria Kagan and Ianina Pacheco ). Both groups play different kinds of music, that goes from the Bossa Nova, Jazz, Tangos, Afro-Cubans,tradicional Russian influenced compositions and world music in general.
(text by Evandra de Brito Gonçalves)

Manuel Durão

Born in 1987, Lisbon, composer Manuel Durão studied trumpet and percussion and graduated in Composition by Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (2008). He attended Conducting Workshops by Jean-Sébastien Béreau. In 2005, he won the competition Jovens Criadores promoted by Clube Português de Artes e Ideias and represented Portugal in the III Bienal Jovens Criadores da CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries). He was selected for the first round of the Opera Competition in the Municipal Theatre in Lisbon. He is studying since 2007 at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig (Germany) with Reihard Pfundt (composition), Helgeheide Schmidt (piano) and Michael Schorcht (Improvisation). He received a Scholarship from ERASMUS-Program (2007) and from the DAAD (2009-2010). He is founder of the Nova Orquestra de Lisboa. He became comissions from the RTP - Portuguese Radio and Television, Mikroduo, Lisbon Guitar Quartet, Sinfonietta Lisbon, Ricercare Choir Lisbon, Tatjana Masurenko and Brigitte Fassbaender. In 2010 will be presented the german version of his Diary of a Mad Man at the Opera Leipzig with musicians of the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

(text by Manuel Durão)

Carla Caramujo

Soprano Carla Caramujo completed her Bachelor and Masters in Music Performance, with distinction, at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, having graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Opera Course. She studied with Laura Sarti and Patricia MacMahon. She was a scholar of the Samling Foundation in the UK. Carla Caramujo won first prizes in a number of competitions including the Luisa Todi National Singing Competition (Lisbon), Chevron Excellence award 2005 and Ye Cronies Award 2006 (UK) and at the Musikförderpreis der Hans-Sachs-Loge (Nürnberg). She made her début at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (TNSC), Lisbon, as Gilda Rigoletto and in a Concert Gala with Vesselina Kasarova. Carla Caramujo’s operatic roles include Adina L’elisir d’amore (Teatro da Trindade), Violetta La traviata (Sintra’s Festival), Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte (Trinity theatre, Kent), Madame Herz Die Schauspieldirektor (Teatro das Figuras, Faro), Fiordiligi Cosi fan tutte (Teatro Rivoli, Porto), Valetto L’incoronazione di Poppea (Traverse Theater, Edimbrough), Armida Rinaldo (Festival Theater, Edimbrough), Frasquita Carmen (Teatro Communale, Bologna), Flight Controller Flight (New atheneum theater, Glasgow), She in Douglas Templeton’s Night Square, Usignuolo and Fata Azzurra in Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco (Casa das Artes, Famalicão). Her concert performances include Brahms Requiem, Bach Magnificat, Handel Messiah, Mozart C minor Mass, Beethoven Mass in C, Mendelssohn Elijah, Poulenc Gloria, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart Concert Arias, in major UK venues and in Germany, the Czech Republic, Mexico and Portugal where she has also performed at entro Cultural de Belém, Gulbenkian and many of the major music festivals. In 2008, Carla has participated on a doccumentary series for RTP (Portuguese Radio and Television), Percursos da Música Portuguesa, with a recital performed at the Teatro Nacional de S. Carlos. Last summer she returned to Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon to sing sang Donna Anna Don Giovanni and recently she sang Nena in Pergolesi’s Lo frate 'nnamorato for CCB (Lisbon) and Vespina in Francisco António de Almeida’s La Spinalba for the festival Are-more of Vigo (Spain). In Spring 2010 she will sing Adele Die Fledermaus, also at Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.


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Costa Campos

A full, glowing night, of augurious stars, came down upon the blessed and mystical set erected at the ruins of Convento do Carmo, there to witness the premiere of Costa Campos as a lead singer, playing D. Basilio from Il Barbiere di Siviglia, under the direction of Jan Latham König. It was the first peak in the life of this young man graduated in Law, born in Luanda, who quested madly for the Apollonius gesture, the grave sculpture of singing, ever since he emerged from the Escola de Teatro e Cinema do Conservatório Nacional, with Maria Germana Tânger and Águeda Sena, since when he received the teaching of Maria Cristina de Castro, Hugo Casaes, Natália Viana, Elsa Saque and Liliane Bizineche; the conspicuous and detailed perfecting of the art and of the craft with Ivo Vinco, Jeff Lawton, Jonathan Morris and Günther Bauer; and finally the splendid principles of voice and interpretation from the divine Grace Bumbry and that illustrious maestro, Enza Ferrari. There followed the musical-theatrical, multi-disciplinal and various performances: Judas, from O Nazareno (Coliseu de Lisboa), La Diva from Zarzuelas Cabaré e Olé Olé (Municipal de S. Luís), the Marquis of Obigny in the historical production of La Traviata, signed by Pier Luigi Pizzi and directed by Giuliano Carella (Teatro de S. Carlos), the Senator Robert Lyons in Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing (Festival de Música de Macau), Carumba, from Leal Moreira’s A Vingança da Cigana. In splendid artistic fruits did the year 2009 smile upon Costa Campos when, in the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, exemplarily integrated in the principles and in the most original scenic conceptions of such great men of the Theatre as Peter Konwintschy and Michael Hampe, he achieved authentic creations in the roles of Bénoit, from La Bohème (directed by Julia Jones), and of the Praetorian in Handel’s Agripina. An artist of indefatigable capacity for work and constant perfecting, eternally avid for new challenges, it is in the creation of the role Montesinos in the opera D. Quixote et la Duchesse, by Boismortier, that he reaps abundant triumph by exhibiting the excellence of his bass register, for the first time facing the hardships of a basso profondo tessitura. He is presently the mentor of a cultural project entitled Primo Canto, where the artistic wisdom begotten in his contact with the Grand Masters is passed onto others. Hailed as an aesthete both on- and off-stage, Costa Campos bears a debt of infinite gratitude towards his beloved Mother and the unforgettable Grace Bumbry for his excellence throughout. (text by Costa Campos)

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Júlio Pereira

In 30 years of a career as multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, Júlio Pereira has guided his artistic concern by parameters that have the universality of cultural events as reference. This, in no way contradicts the importance of his work in the scope of the traditional Portuguese music and the ethnic consideration of sounds and their roots. His work has always aimed to the incorporation of Portuguese tradition in aesthetic currents that mark the successive "contemporarities". Thus, his ouevre, comprising 17 LPs, after reflecting the importance of the 70s musical innovation, starts to focus in recovering and renovating the sounds of "almost lost" traditional instruments – of that, the most paradigmatic examples are Cavaquinho (1981), Braguesa (1982), and O meu bandolim (1992) – as well, especially since the 90s, the combination of these sounds with (always) new acoustic solutions – as Rituais (2000) documents significantly. All this places him, beyond his key role in the Portuguese music scenario of the 20th century last decades, also as a musician of the new century. Although Júlio Pereira’s work, since the album Cavaquinho (1981), didn’t extend to the composition of music for lyrics, his poetic selectivity led him to produce an album – Faz de conta - which intersects with core Portuguese speaking authors, such as Eugénio de Andrade and Vinicius de Moraes. In Graffiti, his new album, to be heard from the beginning of the new year, the words’ sound is back associating the most significant voices of World Music to his work after Geografias (2007), which definitely marked the composer’s universality and the stage return of the instrumentalist. Julio Pereira’s experience and musical testimony are attested by almost an hundred discs where he performed as an instrumentalist, orchestrator or producer. Mention must be made to the importance of his close ties to the career of José Afonso, since the late 70s, as well as his participation in joint works with Pete Seeger and The Chieftains and also Kepa Junkera, Chico Buarque, Dulce Pontes, Sara Tavares, Carlos do Carmo, etc.

(text by Júlio Pereira)

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Ernesto Rodrigues

Performer and composer Ernesto Rodrigues was born in Lisbon 1959. He has been playing the violin for 30 years and in that time has played all genres of music ranging from contemporary music to free jazz and free improvisation, live and in the studio. As an avant-garde violinist/violist his main interest shifted towards contemporary improvised and new music as well as graphic scores by Gerhard Stäbler, Nikolaus Gerszewski and Phil Niblock. Studies with contemporary composers Eurico Carrapatoso, Emmanuel Nunes and Pedro M. Rocha. The relationship with his instruments is focused in sonic and textural elements as well as the use of extended techniques. Electronic music was an early influence on his approach to violin playing, which challenges traditional romantic concepts of the violin and viola through use of preparations and micro tuning. Silence plays an important and determinant role in his music. Has founded and directs Variable Geometry Orchestra since 2000. A large ensemble where the conduction is operated by balancing the sound masses that travel in the acoustic space, dictating the construction of the realtime composition, and thus revealing the organized juxtaposition of specific instruments as mobile sound groups. Has created music for films, dance, performance and video. (text by Ernesto Rodrigues)


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Ana Paula Russo

As a soloist, soprano Ana Paula Russo has sung in many Lied and Oratorium concerts, as well as in Opera. Some of her outstanding works were for the Gulbenkian Foundation, RTP (Portuguese Radio and Television), Europalia-91 (in Brussels) and Lisbon 94 – capital of culture.In 1989, she represented Portugal in the “Cardiff Singer of the World” Competition. She took part in some important music festivals, such as Capuchos, Leiria, Estoril, Algarve, P. de Varzim, F. da Foz and the International Festival of Macao. In concert, she sang works as, for instance, “Das Buch der hängenden Gärten” (Schönberg), “Les Noces” (Stravinsky),”Les Illuminations” (Britten), Cantata op, 29 (Webern), works by A. Chagas Rosa, “Carmina Burana” (C. Orff), “Stabat Mater” (Rossini and Dvorak) and many others. The Opera and Scenic music have had a major importance in APRusso’s career. Among many others, we can point out roles as: Rosina (The Barber of Seville), Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Marie (La fille du regiment), Ninette (The love of the three Oranges),Musetta (La Bohéme), Adele (Der Fledermaus), Clorinda (La Cenerentola), Ernesta (As Damas Trocadas), Hanna (The merry Widow), Najade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Cunegonde (Candide), Vespetta (Pimpinone), Eurydice (Orphé aux Enfers), Nightingale (The Nightingale by Stravinsky), Minette (The English Cat by H.W Henze), D.Anna (D. Giovanni). In April’98 she was one of the singers in the world premiere of the opera “Os Dias Levantados” by António Pinho Vargas – this work was recorded on cd by EMI. In 1998, Ana Paula was chosen to sing the female leading role in the opera “White Raven” (world premiere) by Philip Glass in the Expo’98 in Lisbon. This opera was also sung in Madrid (Teatro Real) and in New York (Lincoln Center/NY State Opera). In the 10th anniversary of Fernando Lopes Graça’s death (2004), she sang the soprano soloist part in the composer’s Requiem – this performance was released on cd in 2006. In 2008 she sang in the world premiere of “Evil Machines”, a musical fantasy by Terry Jones (Monthy Python), with music by Luis Tinoco. Together wih Carlos Gutkin (guitar player), she recorded a very successful cd with ibero-american music, “Melodia Sentimental”. In 2009, she sang the main soloist part in Marcos Portugal’s “Missa Grande”, recorded in cd.

(Text by Ana Paula Russo)