Pedro Silva

Born in Guimarães, Pedro Silva began his studies at the Vale do Ave School of Performing Arts, going on to complete a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Performance at the Porto Higher School of Music, under Professor Hugues Kesteman. He also holds a specialist qualification in bassoon. He continued his studies at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (Germany), in the class of Professor Gunter Pfizenmaier.

At the same time, he attended various masterclasses led by: Sérgio Azollini, Gustavo Nuñes, Milan Turkovic and Dag Jensen in Portugal, Germany, Switzerland and France. In 1995, he was awarded 3rd Prize in the woodwind category of the Portuguese Musical Youth Competition.

n the fields of chamber music and orchestral music, he performs regularly in: Spain, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and Brazil. Highlights of his artistic career include appearances at the Mateus International Music Festival, Póvoa do Varzim, Espinho, the Spring Meetings (Germany), the Strasbourg International Music Festival (France) and Campos do Jordão (Brazil). He was a permanent member of the Orquestra do Norte, the Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras and the Orquestra Nacional do Porto. Between 2003 and 2019, he was a member of the Porto Casa da Música Symphony Orchestra, having also collaborated with other orchestras at national and international level: the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the Paris Orchestra. Also noteworthy is his participation in other ensembles: Soloists of the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Soloists of the Porto Symphony Orchestra, the Zelenka Quintet and, on a regular basis, the Remix Ensemble. He is a founding member of Trivm de Palhetas and Camerata Senza Misura, with whom he has recordings on Editora Numérica. He has premiered works by leading national and international composers such as Magnus Lindberg, Jonathan Harvey and Bruno Mantovani, amongst others.

As a soloist, he has premiered works for solo bassoon, piano and electronics by the following composers: Jean-François Lézé, Fernando Lapa, Carlos Azevedo, Sérgio Azevedo, Telmo Marques, Pedro Faria Gomes and José Luís Ferreira. He has served on the juries of various competitions, notably the 2012–16 Young Musicians’ Prize and the HELENA Sá e Costa Prize. A highlight of his teaching career is the establishment of bassoon classes at various music academies and schools within the national music education system.

He is a permanent lecturer in the bassoon class at the Porto Higher School of Music (ESMAE) and the Viana do Castelo Professional School of Music (ARTEAM), and frequently gives masterclasses in Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy.