Biography
Helena Caspurro is an Assistant Professor at the University of Aveiro; she has also taught at the Coimbra and Guarda Polytechnic schools, as well as at the Universidade Nova of Lisbon. Her research interests are focused on the theme of improvisation in learning, which she develops as a teacher and musician. She is frequently invited to teach seminars in national and international schools and universities and has directed and presented musical theatre performances for children, youth and music teachers, as Um Sonho Americano (2011) and Em Canto se Conta o Natal (2013), commissioned by the Education Department of Casa da Música.
She is a pianist, singer, composer and lyricist in the jazz and fusion genre, and edited three original CDs: Mulher Avestruz (2003), Colapsopira (2009) and Paluí (2013), the latter commemorating the 40th anniversary of the University of Aveiro. She recorded with several musicians: Elizabeth Davis, Brendan Hemsworth, António Aguiar, Arnaldo Fonseca, Pedro Almeida, Carlos Mendes, Andrés Tarabbia, and Mário Santos, among others. Her music has been highlighted in radio programs such as Cinco Minutos de Jazz, Paixões Cruzadas. In 2013 she was invited as a musical performer by TEDx-Aveiro.
Paluí and Navegar, two videos that she created and edited with Carlos Silva and Pedro Carvalho de Almeida, in collaboration with Cine Club Avanca, have been selected and nominated for prizes in several international film festivals, including the International Children's Film Festival, Lucknow (India).
Her latest multidisciplinary project, Se queres saber o que é o Paluí põe o teu dedo aqui! Viagens por histórias sonoras que a língua portuguesa conta (2014-16), for the development of the Portuguese language through music, has been attended more than 500 children from primary schools in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal.
