This month the In Focus section is dedicated to Hugo Vasco Reis, composer published by the MIC.PT, guitarist (Portuguese guitar) and (civil) engineer.
Hugo Vasco Reis' catalogue includes works for orchestra, chamber music, pieces for solo instruments and electroacoustic music. They've been performed in various concert halls around the world (Portugal, USA, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Estonia, Poland, India and Mozambique), as well as awarded / selected within diverse competitions / festivals (MA/IN, The Future Blend Project, NGCS, Folefest, CriaSons, Portuguese Composer's Association, ISCM – World Music Days 2019 and Risuonanze 2018). Hugo Vasco Reis has released five monographic CD albums with his music: Poema Anacrónico, Metamorphosis and Resonances, I am (k)not, O Espaço da Sombra and Chamber Music I. His most recent piece for clarinet and piano – Colors Seen in Silence I (2019) –, was premiered on September 21 at the Castelo de Paiva Municipal Auditorium, by Victor Pereira (clarinet) and Vítor Pinho (piano). Presently, the composer has various commissions for soloists or ensembles, on which he'll be working until mid-2020. Additionally, his work Paisagens, Quero-as Comigo for flute, clarinet, percussion, harp, piano, mezzo-soprano, violin, viola and cello has been chosen for the final of the 4th International GMCL / Jorge Peixinho Composition Competition (>> more info below).
How does Hugo Vasco Reis define the composer's role nowadays? How does he construct his music discourse? And what are his music roots? The answers to these and other questions can be found in the Questionnaire / Interview to Hugo Vasco Reis, in November available on the MIC.PT.

Open Enclosure ​(2019) for chamber ensemble and electronics is the new work by João Madureira, which will be premiered on November 9 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. The programme of this concert entitled Poland – Portugal and co-organised by the Polish Composers' Union / Polmic, also includes the music by the four Polish composers: Włodzimierz Kotoński, Wojtek Blecharz, Piotr Peszat and Karol Nepelski. This repertoire will be performed by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble conducted by Pedro Neves. "I understand music in a more emotional manner, as a multiple universe. I'm interested in the political side that music has, in a broader sense. For me it makes a lot of sense to say that music is philosophy and politics, which in its turn is an approach towards the world" – says João Madureira in the Interview given to the MIC.PT in October 2016. The work Open Enclosure has been commissioned to this composer published by the MIC.PT, by the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble.

NÃO ! (NO !) – Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra (2019), is the new work by Miguel Azguime – composer published by the MIC.PT –, whose premiere will take place on November 6 at the Municipal Theatre in Rio de Janeiro. It will be performed by Pedro Carneiro (solo marimba), who will also conduct the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. "This concert has been written at the request of Pedro Carneiro, to whom it is dedicated" – says Miguel Azguime in the programme notes. And he continues: "The veneration of Mother Nature that gives us life is the Mystery. The respect for the forest and trees is our safeguard and protection. That is why, the timber that comes from the tree can only have a sacred purpose. Therefore, the marimba made of the precious and endangered rosewood is sublime and venerable. This concert is thus a sacred ritual, to ward off the threats that come upon us, and to say NO ! to every tree that is being devastated".

The work Circumnavigare ​(2019) for cello and orchestra by António Chagas Rosa – premiered on October 5 at the Thalia Theatre in Lisbon by Filipe Quaresma and by the Metropolitan Orchestra of Lisbon under the baton of Pedro Amaral –, will be presented again on November 2 in Porto Alegre. This time Filipe Quaresma (cello) and Pedro Amaral will be performing with the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, on November 16 the Autumn Festivals (DeCA – University of Aveiro) organise a special event dedicated to António Chagas Rosa. In this context the Matosinhos String Quartet will perform two of his works – Recifes (2016) and the String Quartet no. 1 (2009). The programme of this event also includes a Round Table with the participation of this composer published by the MIC.PT,  Jorge Castro Ribeiro, Diana Ferreira and Pedro Amaral.

The new electroacoustic piece by Ângela Lopes, Reciclo-Recirculos – Em forma de Sanza ​(2019, will be premiered this month in the context of the Culture and Sustainability Symposium (DME Festival), taking place on November 15-17 at the Lisboa Incomum. "Within the Western music context I feel unified by the sentiment of contemporaneity, the search for innovation, difference, for something more personal than what has already been done. This is how I imagine myself" – says Ângela Lopes (composer published by the MIC.PT), in the MIC.PT Interview from November 2012. The 3rd Culture and Sustainability Symposium intends to raise discussion and awareness on topics such as questioning Western society’s values and habits through art, cultural action and scientific approach. The Symposium promotes a debate on culture's relations with ecology, mobility and sustainability.

The new electroacoustic piece CHANTIER – melodias em pedra ​(2019), composed by Cândido Lima for the Culture and Sustainability Symposium, will be premiered in the context of this event taking place at the Lisboa Incomum, between November 15 and 17. "This acousmatic and audiovisual work is an homage to two brothers, emigrants who became illustrious individuals in the great civil construction companies in Paris, in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s" – reveals Cândido Lima (composer published by the MIC.PT) in the work's programme note. And he continues: "From the Bastille area to works at the Champs-Élysées, from Vanves to Malakoff, from Montparnasse to the UNESCO headquarters, from the Paris-Palais Garnier Opera to Asnières, the land of Seurat – through their functions as «chefs de chantier», they symbolised what's been most notable among the marks left by the Portuguese in France, when it comes to righteousness, leadership, solidarity, and various other talents which are implicit in these functions". The Culture and Sustainability Symposium is an initiative by the DME Festival – Electroacoustic Music Days.

A special concert dedicated to the memory of José Luís Ferreira ​(1973–2018) will take place on November 7, in the context of the Autumn Festivals 2019 (DeCA – University of Aveiro). Its programme will include five works by this composer published by the MIC.PT: Le bruit d'une porte qui…, acousmatic piece; I stole a bar from Leo for guitar and electronics; Trópicos, acousmatic piece; Objet Trouvé & Objet Trouvé II for piano and reciter; Le bruit d'une tète qui frappe contre les murs d'une très petite celule, acousmatic piece. This repertoire will be performed by the DME Ensemble: Ana Telles (piano), Belquior Guerrero (guitar), Gonçalo Ribeiro (actor) and Jaime Reis (electronics). "José Luís Ferreira wanted to lead to the end his inquiry / research on the relations between the «acoustic» and «electronic» instruments. It was an attempt to fully integrate these two universes" – said Miguel Azguime in the MIC.PT In Focus from March 2019, dedicated to José Luís Ferreira, with the participation of his friends, colleagues, students, professors and collaborators.

The work Bucolicae ​(2019), for 4 hand piano, violin and cello, by Paulo Bastos, will be presented on November 23 at the Nogueira da Silva Museum in Braga, at the concert by the Kla-Vier Duo (Patrícia Ventura & Sónia Amaral) with Oksana Kurtash (violin) and António Ferreira (cello). This work, commis-sioned by the Le Printemps de l’Europe, "is a cycle of six nostalgic pieces. The narrative is created upon the musical memories, kept in my ears since childhood. They're sounds from a bucolic village of Serra do Alvão, and the musical themes from the Trás-os-Montes" – says this composer published by the MIC.PT. This concert also includes the work Black and white 180º JSB by the Spanish-Portuguese composer Inés Balado, the piece absit omen by Tomás Alvarenga and the music by Kurtág and Debussy.

Haiku From the Sea ​(2019) for solo piano is the new miniature by Sara Carvalho – composer published by the MIC.PT –, which will be premiered on November 29 in Thessaloniki (Greece), in the context of the recital, M.M.S Mediterranean Miniature Sketches, by Erato Alakiozidou. This Greek pianist, dedicated mainly to the performance of contemporary music, will perform this repertoire again on December 7 at the Athens Conservatoire. "The concept of my works has a very concrete starting point. This stimulus can emerge from many sources: literature, cinema, visual arts, a landscape, a detail or any kind of experience. This embodies the search for a narrative, meaning that for me, in a certain way, composing is similar to writing a book" – says Sara Carvalho in the MIC.PT Interview from December 2012.

Multimedia Composition is the title of the conference by Igor C. Silva, taking place on November 8 at the ESML – Music College of Lisbon. "The conference approaches my multimedia work, focusing essentially on the aspects of synchornisation and interaction between the performer and computer / multimedia. I will show excerpts of my works, scores and above all I will present electronic / multimedia programming as a compositional tool" – says Igor C. Silva. On the same day, at night the DME – Electroacoustic Music Days Festival organises a performance in the context of Igor C. Silva's and Maija Anttila's residency at the Lisboa Incomum. In this framework this Finnish clarinetist will perform the work Blindspot Box (2018) for bass clarinet, electronics, video and lighting by this composer published by the MIC.PT.

The work Suite Raiana – on traditional melodies from the Beira Baixa ​(2019) by Fernando C. Lapa, is included in the concert programme by the João Roiz Ensemble, taking place on November 5 at the Juan del Encina Theatre in Salamanca (Spain). "I've always given importance to traditional Portuguese music, following the footsteps of the great masters – among whom the greatest is evidently Fernando Lopes-Graça. In this sense, I've composed series of pieces based on traditional tunes" – says Fernando C. Lapa (composer published by the MIC.PT) in the Interview from 2017. The João Roiz Ensemble is a group created by the Castelo Branco Municipality, composed of: João Mendes and Vasken Fermanian (violins), João Pedro Delgado (viola), Ricardo Mota (cello) and Pedro Ladeira (clarinet).

The new work for concert band by Sofia Sousa Rocha, Tríptico para aquela que canta mais do que as aves – um tributo à Mulher do Minho ​(2019), will be premiered in the context of the 6th Concert Band Competition of Braga (November 23 and 24 at the Altice Fórum). This work is a commission to Sofia Sousa Rocha by the Competition's organisers for the mandatory repertoire in the framework of this initiative,  promoted by the Braga Municipality in collaboration with the São João Festivities Association and the Calouste Gulbenkian Conservatoire. "The composition process of the work is dynamic and, although I have a tendency to think that I begin with an embryo-idea for the music I write, I know that this gesture is a consequence of a reflection starting with a question: what do I want to hear?" – says this composer published by the MIC.PT in the Interview from December 2015.

A Bag and a Stone is a dance piece for screen idealised and created by Tânia Carvalho, with music by Diogo Alvim and photography direction by Christo Roussev. It will be presented on November 20 at the Avenida Cine-Theatre in Castelo Branco. Another project with the participation of this composer published by the MIC.PT – Turning Backs by Lígia Soares, Rita Vilhena and Diogo Alvim –, is included in the programme of the Temps d’Images Festival. The presentation of this participative installation will take place on November 22 and 23 at the Rua das Gaivotas 6 in Lisbon. "Turning Backs is a project exploring the paradox: we are all included in exclusion" – reveal the project's creators. Additionally, in the end of the month, on November 30, the São Francisco Convent in Coimbra will inaugurate the installation by Matilde Meireles and Diogo Alvim – 40°12’16″N 8°26’10″W (a project of Osso Collective).

Diogo Alvim (DAlv0003) · Didactic Score
Três Pequenas Peças para Piano (2007) · piano

Diogo Alvim (DAlv0004)
Pentacorde (2008) · for (5) ensemble(s)

Lino Guerreiro (LGuer0001)
Étude 4 sur 3 (2014) · violin, viola, cello

The last immersive concert of the Portuguese tour by the Aleph Guitar Quartet, which has given the premiere performance of the work Fluxus, Vortex – Schubkraft ​(2019) for guitar quartet (and electronics) by Jaime Reis, will take place on November 1 at the Casa da Música. This month two other pieces by this composer published by the MIC.PT, will be presented in the context of the Culture and Sustainability Symposium at the Lisboa Incomum (November 15-17; DME Festival). The pieces are: Fluxus, pas trop haut dans le ciel (2017), electroacoustic work and Omniscience is a Collective – Part IV (2016) performed by Vasco Fazendeiro (percussion). Additionally, on November 29 in the framework of the conference Piano Music in the 20th and 21st Centuries at the Music Academy in Gdańsk (Poland), Jaime Reis will make the presentation: From miniature to multi tempi: the piano in the structure and as a structural element in my music.

The piece for virtual percussion and electronics Kontrol ​(2019) by João Pedro Oliveira, will be performed by the Mexican percussionist Iván Manzanilla on November 1 at the University of Limerick (Ireland) and on November 12 at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna (Austria). Another work by this composer published by the MIC.PT – Tesseract (2017) for electronics and video (video-music) – is included in the programme of the Fall NODUS Concert Series in Miami (USA), at the concert scheduled for November 6. Additionally, João Pedro Oliveira's electroacoustic piece N'vi'ah (2019), premiered in October at the Ai-Maako 2019 Festival in Chile, has been selected for the 23rd Biennale of Brazilian Contemporary Music – taking place in Rio de Janeiro between November 10 and 14. In this context, the presentation of the work N'vi'ah will take place on November 13 at the Cecília Meireles Hall.

Pastoral op. 81, Improviso op. 82 and Mirage op. 83 – are the three works for solo French horn by Ricardo Matosinhos, which will be premiered by the horn player João Gaspar and by the composer himself, on November 3 at the Casa de Atalaia in Palmela. This concert – The French Horn and its Sonorities –, whose programme also includes the premiere of a new piece by João Gaspar, will be also performed by the two horn players: Ângelo Caleira and Armando Martins. One day before this concert, at the Immaculate Conception Chapel in Braga, António Luís Ribeiro (saxophone) and Ingrid Sotolarova (piano) will release their new CD Quasi una Fantasia, which includes the piece Lamento (2015) by Ricardo Matosinhos. Additionally, on November 14 this composer published by the MIC.PT will participate as author and performer in the recital at the Music Academy of the Vizalense Philharmonic Society. The programme of this event includes various of his works for French horn and Wagner tuba with piano, as well as the premieres of works by Cláudio Barruma (Cerberus) and Jeffrey Agrell (Gaullimaufry Suite), dedicated to Ricardo Matosinhos in the context of his Doctorate.

The new work, Canções do espaço e da luz ​(2019), by Hugo Ribeiro, based on the poems of Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, will be premiered on November 1 at the Music in São Roque Festival in Lisbon. The programme of this concert also includes the pieces by João Domingos Bomtempo – Libera me and Quatro absolvições. This repertoire will be performed by Mariana Castello-Branco (soprano), Carolina Figueiredo (mezzo-soprano), João Pedro Cabral (tenor), André Baleiro (baritone) and the MPMP Ensemble conducted by Jan Wierzba.The new work by Hugo Ribeiro has been commissioned by the MPMP – Patrimonial Movement for Portuguese Music, in the context of the artistic residency offered to this composer published by the MIC.PT, as winner of the Musa Award 2019. In this sense the works by the Musa 2019 laureates – poemas sem nome (2019) by Hugo Ribeiro and Tríptico nocturno (2019) by Miguel Jesus (Honourable Mention) – will be performed by the MPMP Ensemble (a cappella choir) directed by Clara Alcobia Coelho, on November 9 (Culture Centre in Lagos) and 16 (Biodiversity Gallery in Porto).

Two works by the composers published by the MIC.PT – Hermes, nove da noite ​(2017) for spatialised tenor saxophone and live video by João Quinteiro and Dialogismos I for saxophone duo and electronics (2012) by Nuno Peixoto de Pinho – are included in the programme of the recital by the saxophone and electronics duo created by Henrique Portovedo and Francisco Martínez. This concert will take place on November 15 at the Manuel de Falla Auditorium of the Superior Conservatoire of Music in Madrid, in the context of the Contemporary Music and Technology Days organised by the Sax-Ensemble Foundation. In the context of the same event, on November 16, Henrique Portovedo will also give a masterclass (Extended Musical Performance), followed by the masterclass by Miguel Azguime, composer published by the MIC.PT – Composing with Electronic Means in Portugal.

Works by two composers published by the MIC.PT – Nuno e os Monstros ​(2008) by Isabel Soveral with text by Ágata Mandillo and O Leão e o Rato (2019; premiere) by Miguel Azguime, with the story by La Fontaine – are included in the performances of the Sound Told Fairy Tales, taking place on November 20 & 21 at the O’culto da Ajuda in Lisbon. This programme also includes four more pieces: A Velha e o Ladrão (2008) with music by Sérgio Pelágio and story by António Torrado, Plop! (2006) with music by Isabel Pires and traditional Tibetan story adapted by Ana de Castro Guimarães and O Pastorinho e a Flauta (2014) with music by Carlos Guedes (traditional tale). These performances include the participation of Ana Baptista, Francisco Sales and Miguel Azguime, as narrators, with the sound projection realised by Paula Azguime. The Sound Told Fairy Tales project – directed to young audiences and created by the Miso Music Portugal to give continuation to the disappearing tradition of storytelling – offers an innovative and enriched way of telling and listening to a story, with the sonic layer suggesting and complementing the semantic meaning of the words.

Three composers published by the MIC.PT – Jaime Reis, João Madureira and João Pedro Oliveira – and also Ivan Fedele (president), Gerhard Stäbler and Jorge Sá Machado, constitute the jury of the 4th International GMCL / Jorge Peixinho Composition Competition. This biennial initiative is organised by the GMCL – Lisbon Contemporary Music Group. Its main objectives are the encouragement of musical creation and its dissemination, thus contributing to the increase of the repertoire within chamber music. The concerts, performed by the GMCL directed by Rui Pinheiro, presenting the music of the finalists at the 4th International GMCL / Jorge Peixinho Composition Competition will take place on November 21 and 22, respectively, at the National Music Museum in Lisbon and at the Joaquim de Almeida Cine-Theatre in Montijo. The Competition's finalists are: Luca Vago (Itály), Adrian Mukanu (Ukraine), Hugo Vasco Reis (Portugal) e Torsten Sense (Germany).

From now on the MIC.PT has a new Composer’s Page dedicated to Miguel Jesus. Born in 1984, Miguel Jesus started composing during his time at the ESML – Music College of Lisbon, participating in the ESML Composition Week with pieces for a cappella choir, formation for which until now he has written the most music. Among his compositions one can distinguish – A Criança (2016) for choir and string orchestra, written for the 20th anniversary of the Ricercare Association; Por Entre o Saltério (2017) for mixed a cappella choir, written for the Sanctuary of Fátima at the Centenary of the Apparitions; Elogio da Morte (2019) for string quartet and soprano, written for the CriaSons Festival; Tríptico Nocturno (2019) for mixed a cappella choir, awarded with an Honourable Mention at the Musa Prize (MPMP – Patromonial Movement for Portuguese Music); and Eu Sou a Tela (2019) for a cappella mixed choir, winner at the Manuel Emílio Porto National Choral Composition Competition 2019. As a choralist Miguel Jesus performs with groups such as the Gulbenkian Choir, the Officium Ensemble, the Voces Caelestes and the MPMP Ensemble.

In October Lino Guerreiro has joined the group of Composers Published by the MIC.PT, having at the moment one work in the Catalogue of Scores Published by the MIC.PT – Étude 4 sur 3 (2014), for violin, viola and cello. Additionally, six more scores of his authorship are being prepared for release on the MIC.PT during the months to come. Lino Guerreiro has graduated from Composition at the ESML – Music College of Lisbon, where he studied with Carlos Caires, Christopher Bochmann, José Luís Ferreira, Sérgio Azevedo, Carlos Marecos, João Madureira, Roberto Perez and Benoît Gibson. In 2012 he realised the Master's Degree in Music – Composition, at the ESML, under the supervision of António Pinho Vargas. In the same year, he also realised the Master's in Music Education – Composition, being supervised by António Pinho Vargas, Carlos Marecos and Francisco Cardoso. Lino Guerreiro has been developing his activity as composer mainly in the area and genres of wind and percussion instruments. He is professor at the D. Dinis Music Conservatoire and at the Metropolitana Professional School.