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Details as performer
 Pedro M. Rocha was born at Torres Novas in 1961. Having not the means to study music in his childhood, he entered the world of sounds mainly by improvising songs with added percussion sounds from several objects. At 13 he made it with a guitar, and only at 16 he began his musical studies with the Piano. From 1981 to 1984 he also studied Geology, having acquired scientific data that remains as a cornerstone of his Universe and Musical concepts. Also from 1981 he continued his Piano studies under Gilberta Paiva and later under Olga Prats. The following year he began composition under Christopher Bochmann, which he proceeded in the Escola Superior de Mùsica de Lisboa in 1986 with this same teacher, when he also finished the old Composition course in the Conservatoire. Between 1982 and 1990 he attended several courses and seminars, with Makoto Shinohara and Daniel Teruggi (Electroacoustic Music); Erwin Liszt and Pepe Prats (Choir Conducting); Fernando Eldoro and Christopher Bochmann (Orchestral Conducting); Constança Capdeville, Álvaro Salazar, Jorge Peixinho and most of all with Emmanuel Nunes and Christopher Bochmann (Composition). In 1986 was at the Darmstadt courses: In 1987 received a prize with "Duo" (Violin and Cello) on the celebration of the 75 years of Fernando Lopes Graça. In the following year he had a traineeship in the Electroacoustic Music Studio in Cuenca, Spain, with a grant awarded by "Juventude Musical Portuguesa" where he composed Dual for piano and 4 samplers, his first personal piece. In 1990 he finished the available degree in Composition at the Lisbon Superior Music School. A work important from this period is "Vórtice" that blends the directions that still mark his style: micro-tons, multiphonics and noises-- remains inedit. Then he was granted a scholarship from Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to study in Paris with Alain Banquart, until 1994. In that period he attended several informatics courses namely about SYTER at the Groupe de Recherches Musical under Daniel Teruggi's supervision, as well as the 1 year "Cursus de Composition et Informatique Musicale" at the IRCAM, having worked with several technicians and composers like Brian Ferneyhough, Tristan Murail, Phillipe Manoury and Jonathan Harvey. In Paris he composed among others "Caminho", for flute, horn and electronics at IRCAM. After 1994 lives in Lisbon. Besides teaching -- Analysis and Compositional Techniques, Choir, Chamber Music, Improvisation and Orchestration—continued his learning process as a musician, singing (with Fernando Serafim and Dolorez Suarez); vocal technique (Vianey da Cruz); Orchestra \conducting (Jean Sébastiaen Béreau). Between 1996 e 2001 composed his only orchestral works “Peça para Cordas” e “Homenagem a Luigi Nono” (for string orchestra), “Spiritus ubi vult spirat” (for several instrumental groups and choir). His production keeps focused on chamber music and/or vocal with or without pre-recorded sounds. After 2001 started to compose acousmatic pieces. Some of these in collaboration with video artists André Sier, on the unfinished triptich “To a world free from...”, and Simbioses with Ana Carvalho He has also written works where improvisation and open form already announced at “Dual” are important processes like in Spiritus ubi vult spirat” (several instrumental groups and choir), “Algarve” (6 instruments, Soprano and pre-recorded sounds), “To a free world” (12 intruments) “To a world free from beliefs” (quintet and prerecorded sounds). IN FOCUS (April 2011) EXTERNAL LINKS Pedro M. Rocha