Biography

Carlos Canhoto Almeida was born in 1974. He holds a PhD in Music (Performance) by the University of Aveiro. He was the first Portuguese saxophonist to obtain this degree. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Saxophone and Chamber Music at the Conservatoire National de Cergy-Pontoise, France, in the class of Jean-Yves Fourmeau, with the Médaille d’ Or distinction. He also completed a bachelor’s degree in musical science at the Nova University of Lisbon. In 1995, Carlos Canhoto Almeida won the 1^st Prize in the competition “UFAM” in Paris, in the category “Supérieur”. In 1998, he won the 1^st Prize in the “Ile de France” competition in Chamber Music. He has been working with several composers in creating new music. He premiered over 40 pieces from composers such as Christopher Bochmann, Antonin Servière, Pedro Amaral, Amílcar Vasques Dias, António Chagas Rosa, Jaime Reis, Sara Carvalho, José Carlos Sousa, Eduardo Patriarca, Sérgio Azevedo, João Delgado, Paulo Vaz de Carvalho, Anne Victorino d’Almeida or Fernando Lapa, among others.

Carlos Canhoto Almeida has been particularly devoted to Chamber Music for saxophone and other instruments, being part of several musical ensembles. He was a member of the Silekn sax quartet. Currently, he plays in the Eldorado Quartet. He is a founding member of Síntese – Contemporary Music Group and artistic director of Síntese – Cycle of Contemporary Music of Guarda. He is an integrated researcher at the Institute of Ethnomusicology – Centre of Studies in Music and Dance (INET-md). The is an Invited Adjunct Professor at the Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas of the Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco. He also teaches in the Guarda, Covilhã and Castelo Branco conservatoires. In 2016, he released the CD “Shout”, with the pianist Natalia Riabova, which includes music for saxophone and piano. In 2018, he released the CD “Soli”, with Portuguese music for solo saxophone, a project funded by DGArtes.