The new work by João Pedro Oliveria, composer published by the MIC.PT, Variations on Ases Tod for organ (2014) will have its premiere performance at the 15^th edition of the Oslo Griegfestival. In March the Portuguese composer's piece was distinguished with the second prize at the Edward Grieg International Competition for Composers, and on May 11 it will be performed by the organist Ole Andreas Fevang at the Festival's concert entitled Variations for Solo Organ on a Theme by Grieg, whose programme will include the pieces distinguished at the Competition.

The work Diáspora (2014) by Ângela da Ponte, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be diffused by the BEAST sound system (Birmingham Electroacoustic Sound Theatre) within the BEASTiary concerts, which will be taking place on May 3 at the Birmingham University. Presently Ângela da Ponte is researcher at this University where she is working on her PhD under the supervision of Jonty Harrison and Michael Zev Gordon. Her thesis, Ensaios Sobre Cantos - a portfolio of compositions, is based on the search for influences of Azorean culture on her music and on the creation of new electroacoustic and mixed pieces.

The pieces Three Short Pieces from The Darkness Book by Paulo Ferreira-Lopes, The moon lost her name by Sara Carvalho and Soit Seul Sûr de Son by Miguel Azguime, composers published by the MIC.PT, are integrated in the project As Coisas und andere Dinge, which will be presented on May 21 at the AckerStadtPalast in Berlin. This performance is dedicated to the 40^th anniversary of democracy in Portugal, in the time when this system is being challenged by the EU crisis. It combines Portuguese works performed by musicians from Lisbon and Berlin, as well as the sound theatre As Coisas, based on the story under the same title by José Saramago.

The work for piano Estudos Literários - Retratos (2011-13) by João Madureira, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be performed by the pianist Ana Telles at her solo recital on May 3 in the framework of Dias da Música (Music Days), an annual festival at the Belém Arts Centre. This year the Festival will be taking place between May 2 and 4 under the theme Mudam-se os tempos (Times Change), with a programme of more than 60 concerts, during which, within an informal environment, it will be possible to listen to music inspired in great History, great Turning Points and great Revolutions.

Nuno e os Monstros (2008) and A Menina dos Olhos de Chuva (2008), are works by two composers published by the MIC.PT, Isabel Soveral and Ângela Lopes, which will be performed on May 15 at two concerts at the Cantanhede Muncipal Library. These works are part of the Sound Told Fairy Tales, a project for children and adults by Miso Music Portugal, where it is possible to listen to a story in both ways, to discover the meaning of the words by means of sound; where it is indeed possible to "see" with the ears.

The work Elos (2006) by Sofia Sousa Rocha, composer published by the MIC.PT, integrates the programme of the 1st Saxophone European Congress Eurosax 2014, which will be taking place at the Marcos Redondo Music Conservatoire in Ciudad Real, Spain, from May 1 to 4. The work, for two saxophones, will be performed by the Osmoses Duo (António Luís Ribeiro and Fernando Ferreira), on May 3 within a programme that also includes works by Karlheinz Stockhausen and Georges Aperghis. This conference, which marks the 200^th anniversary of Adolphe Sax is organized by the Spanish Saxophone Association.

João Pedro Oliveira, composer published by the MIC.PT, is guest artist at the SuigénerisLab 2014 in Mérida, Mexico, an academic creation programme intended for young composers, with the objective of promoting their work. In the framework of this programme the young participants will be developing their projects in composition, under the direction of composers of recognized merit. This course is co-organized by the 1^st Festival of Electroacoustic Music in Mérida (September 2014) where João Pedro Oliveira will also be guest composer.

On May 3 Miguel Azguime and Rui Penha, composers published by the MIC.PT, will be participating in the 2^nd session of the cycle Conversas com Compositores Portugueses Contemporâneos (Conversations with Portuguese Contemporary Composers), which will take place at the Gato Vadio café and bookshop in Porto. During this meeting Rui Penha, who talked about his music at the first event of the cycle on March 29, will be moderating a conversation around Miguel Azguime's work, ideas and aesthetics. Conversas com Compositores Portugueses Contemporâneos is a cycle of monthly meetings organized by the Atelier de Composição in Porto, which aims to present Portuguese contemporary authors - "who they are, how do they think of music, and what are their inspirations."

Pedro Rebelo, composer published by the MIC.PT, has been, since January, visiting professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), as well as curator and coordinator of the participative sound art project, Som da Maré, whose objective is to articulate the relation between the sound and the everyday life of the habitants at the Maré Favela Complex in Rio de Janeiro. In this context Pedro Rebelo also teaches a post graduate course at UFRJ’s Art School (EBA) entitled Participative Strategies in the Sonic Arts, and runs workshops with secondary education young residents of the Maré at the Maré Museum. The results of the work in progress developed within the project will be presented in form of exhibitions at the Maré Museum and EAV Parque Lage, which will open for public on May 16 and 17.

The MIC.PT has released various news scores by two composers: Christopher Bochmann and Helder Gonçalves. The five new scores, for various instrumental formations, are included in the online MIC.PT Score Catalogue, which presently includes 831 works by 49 Portuguese composers.

In the context of the European Art Science and Technology Network, this year Miguel Azguime, composer published by the MIC.PT, is realizing a artistic residency at Studio ACROE (Association pour la Création et la Recherche sur les Outils d'Expression) of the Institut National Polytechnique Grenoble. Within this residency, whose first period begins on May 5, Miguel Azguime will write a new work using physical modeling synthesis as a paradigm and using the computer language "Cordis-Anima / Genesis ".

On May 5 Tiago Cutileiro, composer published by the MIC.PT, will defend his doctoral thesis entitled Opera and Non-Narrative Music. The event will be held at the auditorium of the Colégio Mateus de Aranda of the University of Évora. Before the presentation students of the University's Music Course will perform excerpts from the opera composed by Tiago Cutileiro in the framework of the thesis.

Álvaro García de Zúñiga, writer, poet, musician, dramaturgist, theatre director and collaborator of the New Music Review Lounge, passed away last Wednesday at the age of 56. Resident in Portugal since the 1990s, he was born in Montevideo in 1958, having lived his youth between Uruguay and Argentina, where he initiated his education in violin and composition. After experiences in music and music theatre he moved towards theatre and other types of writing, leaving a prolific work in these area. "Álvaro García de Zúñiga, a dear boy, had a protected childhood. Since verly early he has revealed a particular tendency to produce and reproduce partially all kinds of things…" ("AGZ by himself" available at blablalab.net; English translation: mic.pt). After having studied in Buenos Aires he continued his education in London, Madrid, Paris, Cologne, and having settled in Lisbon, where he dedicated himself to writing. In Portugal, he was author of such spectacles as Teatro impossível, O Teatro é Puro Cinema, Conferência de imprensa, and the most recent programme of reading and discussion of the work Dom Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes, at the São Luíz Municipal Theatre in Lisbon where he was regular collaborator. He worked with various important figures in music, theatre and visual arts, among which one can distinguish Paula and Miguel Azguime, Pedro Moreira, William Nadylam, Leopold von Verschuer, Robert Cantarella, Fernando Mora Ramos, João Louro or Miguel Palma, among others.
For Álvaro García de Zúñiga, "the language (and the languages) constitute the raw material of the work. (…) A language without any specific nationality, which enjoys being crossed with other languages and inverting the linguistic conventions", as one reads in the author's biography on the website of the blablalab association, which he founded in 1996 together with Teresa Albuquerque. "Álvaro García de Zúñiga sees light on May 10, 1975, (…). The reason why he hadn't opened his eyes before have remained unknown until today, as he has never revealed them, (…). It is after this sombre period of voluntary blindness, that he begins his activity as poet-philosopher with qualities that have made his style so unique from the very first moment."("AGZ by himself" available at blablalab.net; English translation: mic.pt)

This year's edition of the Peças Frescas (Fresh Pieces) Festival will be taking place on May 2 and 3 at the São Luiz Municipal Theatre in Lisbon and its objective is the public presentation of premiere performances of works by Composition students at the Superior School of Music in Lisbon (ESML). Created in 2002 by Luís Tinoco and since 2011 directed by Sérgio Azevedo, the Peças Frescas project is a "laboratory" that allows the ESML Composition students to try out the result of their music creations. The cycle Peças Frescas provides the experience to perform and have music performed in concert at an important concert hall in Lisbon. Involving the students of Composition, Instrument, Voice and Conducting at the ESML, this initiative also allows to establish dialogues between the ones who invent the music, the composers, and the ones who present it to the audiences, the performers, thus providing an essential interaction within an artistic education, which intends to be dynamic and complete.