Biography
Winner of the Artists International Auditions (New York), Concorso Sor (Rome), Prémio Jovens Músicos (Lisbon) and an award winner at various competitions including those of Salieri-Zinetti, Paris, Montélimar, Valencia and Sernancelhe, Pedro Rodrigues began his musical studies at 5 years of age and, at 08 years, his guitar studies with José Mesquita Lopes at the Escola de Música do Orfeão de Leiria where he concluded his studies with full marks as a scholarship student of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian. He participated in masterclasses with David Russell, Leo Brouwer, Joaquin Clerch and Darko Petrinjiak. Pedro later studied with Alberto Ponce at the École Normale de Musique de Paris where he completed the Diplome Superieur de Concertiste in Chamber Music and in Guitar, graduating with full marks from a unanimous jury in the latter.
Under the academic supervision of Paulo Vaz de Carvalho and Alberto Ponce, with a scholarship from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, in 2011 Pedro completed his PhD in Music at the University of Aveiro. He has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall in New York, Salle Cortot in Paris, the National Concert Hall of Taipei, Ateneo in Madrid, the Sala Manuel de Falla of Madrid, Endler Hall in Cape Town, India International Centre of New Delhi, the Sala Raúl Juliá in San Juan, and in Portugal, the Centro Cultural de Belem, Casa da Música and the Grande Auditório da Fundação Gulbenkian. Pedro has premiered more than 60 works by important Portuguese composers, such as João Pedro Oliveira, Cândido Lima, Isabel Soveral, Sara Carvalho, Sérgio Azevedo, José Luís Ferreira, António Sousa Dias and Carlos Caires. Many of these works were dedicated to him.
Pedro has recorded for RTP, RDP, RTM, SABC, Cesky Rozhlas and WIPR, and has recorded CDs with Numérica, Nuova Venezia, Portugaler, Slovartmusic and JNS Music. He has performed as a soloist with various orchestras, including Orquestra Gulbenkian, Filarmonia das Beiras, Orquestra do Algarve and the Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais and Oeiras. Pedro is frequently invited to give masterclasses at conservatoires and universities in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia. His transcriptions and editions are published by Mel Bay Publications, AVA Editions and Notação XXI. As a researcher, he has presented his work at conferences in England, Brazil and Portugal, with his research interests focusing on transcriptions and contemporary music. He recently created and presented the programme “Seis Cordas Para Um País”, transmitted by Antena 2. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication and Art of the University of Aveiro.
