Carolina Frederico has been a violinist with the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra since 2017. She was a member of the Claudio Santoro National Theatre Orchestra in Brasília, Federal District, for over 15 years, serving as concertmaster and soloist. She has also appeared as a soloist with other orchestras, including the Brasília Philharmonic, the Brasília Concert Society, and the OSPA Symphony Orchestra in Porto Alegre.

Throughout her artistic career, she has regularly participated in various chamber music projects, such as the BEC Piano Trio and the Claudio Santoro String Quartet in Brazil’s capital, among others.

She began her violin studies with professors Fredi Gerling and Marcello Guerchfeld at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. At the age of 18, she entered the Eastman School of Music in New York, where she studied under Professor Lynn Blakeslee. She completed her Master’s degree in Violin Performance at the University of Alberta, Canada, under the guidance of Professor Martin Riseley. She also taught violin at Grande Prairie University in Canada.

Ana Margarida Lamelas began her musical studies at the age of ten at the São José da Guarda Music Conservatory under the guidance of Professor Olena Sokolovska. During her time at the conservatory, she took part in various school projects, including concerts with chamber music groups such as the String Quartet at the CCB (2014) and the Ensemble Violin’Art at Casa das Conchas (2016); regional ensembles such as the Scutvias Orchestra (2014); and national projects including the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra, where she served as principal (2016), and the Portuguese Youth Orchestra (2017), touring nationally and culminating in a performance at the Young Euro Classic Festival in Berlin. She also performed with the Portuguese Academic Philharmonic Orchestra on national and international tours, as well as with the Slovak Youth Orchestra and its chamber groups (2018). During this period, she also participated in several competitions, earning 2nd Prize at the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition (Vienna edition), 3rd Prize at the 3rd Vasco Barbosa National Competition, and 3rd Prize at the Montijo National Competition.

After completing her studies at the Guarda Conservatory, she moved to the United Kingdom, where she is currently in her second year of a Bachelor’s degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, studying under Professor Dorothea Vogel.

Since moving to Cardiff, she has participated in numerous projects, including the RWCMD Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, and the String Soloists Orchestra as principal, working with internationally renowned musicians such as Anthony Marwood. In chamber music, she has also performed with the Adastri Quartet, which won the Cardiff Violins Chamber Prize (2019), and participated in the Oslo Young Quartet Seminar (2019). Over these years, she has also had the opportunity to work in masterclasses with Rachel Podger, Jane Rogers, and Rosie Ventre.

In addition to these masterclasses, she has also worked with Christophe Desjardins (03/2018) and Tatjana Mazurenko (09/2017).

She has also engaged in several extracurricular activities that contribute to her development as a well-rounded musician, including volunteer work at the Guarda Museum, the Guarda Parish Center, and the ADM Estrela social institution.

She has experience across a wide range of musical genres, from classical and contemporary art music to jazz, as well as pop and bossa nova, which she explored through performances with an entertainment group at various events. Her greatest passions, however, are early music, as well as the Baroque and Romantic repertoire.

Praised for her captivating artistry and warm expressiveness, Portuguese cellist Mafalda Santos brings to the stage a deep commitment to sharing music and stories with audiences around the world. Equally at ease in concert halls, classrooms, and community spaces, she pursues a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and advocate for inclusive musical experiences.

A prizewinner in over 20 national and international competitions, Mafalda Santos made her solo debut at the age of fourteen with Ensemble FIME. Since then, she has appeared as a soloist with the Espinho Classical Orchestra, the Metropolitan Classical Orchestra, the Ensemble Symphony Orchestra, the Vigo Symphony Orchestra, and the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. She has performed in prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie, and Casa da Música, as well as in concert series including Shriver Hall and “Quintas às 7” at the Belém Cultural Centre. She has also been featured in live broadcasts on WQXR and Antena 2.

As a chamber musician, Mafalda Santos has recently collaborated with artists such as Ani Kavafian, Steven Tenenbom, Amit Peled, Tony Arnold, Seth Knopp, and Maria Lambros, and has participated in major festivals including Four Seasons, Kneisel Hall, Kronberg, Schleswig-Holstein, and SoundSCAPE.

Alongside her solo and chamber career, she has recently served as principal cellist and assistant principal with the Portuguese Philharmonic Orchestra and the Yale Philharmonic, and has recorded with the Sinfonia of London and the Mount Vernon Virtuosi for labels such as CTM Classics, Chandos, and Decca.

Mafalda Santos is deeply committed to the role of music in community and social connection. She has created and participated in accessible concert experiences through organizations such as Our Joyful Noise, The Musical Autist, Creative Access, Inspired Aging, and If Music Be the Food. Between 2021 and 2022, she was Musician in Residence at Edenwald Senior Living Community, where she gave weekly performances for over 350 residents in memory care and healthcare units.

Since 2017, she has been a core member of the Mount Vernon Virtuosi, performing regularly across the United States.

Beyond performance, Mafalda Santos is also a dedicated educator. She serves as Cello Community Lead at tonebase, one of the leading online platforms for classical music education, where she develops community-focused programming and supports students of all levels.

She teaches cello and chamber music through workshops and masterclasses throughout Europe and the United States.

Originally from Vila Nova de Gaia, Mafalda Santos is a doctoral candidate at Yale University and a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. Among her principal mentors are Paul Watkins and Amit Peled. She performs on a cello by Jeffrey Muller, generously loaned by The Maestro Foundation.

Born in Guimarães, Pedro Emanuel Pereira graduated with distinction from the Moscow and Amsterdam Conservatories. He has won more than 20 international competitions, including First Prize at the Santa Cecília International Competition in Porto, the Richard Vines International Competition in Lleida, and the San Sebastián International Competition, among others. He studied orchestration and instrumentation with Mikhail Bogdanov and Artun Hoinic, and was a scholarship recipient of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Jacques Vonk Foundation. As a composer, highlights include a commissioned clarinet concerto for the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (USA), a Requiem in memory of Francisco Sá Carneiro, and the premiere of Passarola for piano, electronics, and sacred geometry, performed in the presence of the King of Spain, the President of the Portuguese Republic, and the President of the Italian Republic.

As a soloist, he has given recitals in Barcelona, New York, and Amsterdam, and has performed with the Yerevan Opera Orchestra, the Porto Symphony Orchestra Casa da Música, and the Moscow Philharmonic. As part of the ECHO Rising Stars program, he tours major European concert halls with clarinetist Carlos Ferreira.

In addition to his work as a concert pianist and composer, he conducts academic research at the University of Aveiro within the doctoral program in Artistic Creation. He is also active in music production and is a founding member of Percos Music.