The work HOQUETUS – tambores de Maio (2020) for percussion septet by Cândido Lima, will be premiered on December 30 in the context of the third edition of the Itinerant Percussion Festival (December 27-30, Casa da Música). “HOQUETUS – tambores de Maio celebrates life after three months of compression, silence and hope, between March and May 2020, evoking friends, emotions and affects present in the composer's life during this time, when, in May, drums were announcing from distance and as a music metaphor, the appearance of an oasis, a real landscape or a mirage. The work is dedicated to Diana Ferreira – Arte no Tempo, who in 2019 commissioned a work for percussion septet...” – reveals Cândido Lima, composer published by the MIC.PT, in the programme note. Aiming to contradict the idea of rivalry between schools and putting music in the foreground, the Itinerant Percussion Festival, an initiative by the Arte no Tempo association, gets together percussionists (students and teachers) from the seven Portuguese colleges, which teach percussion performance.

The premiere of the opera Mátria – aqui na terra, with music by Fernando C. Lapa, composer published by the MIC.PT and libretto by Eduarda Freitas (based on the work by Miguel Torga), will be taking place between December 17 & 19 at the Municipal Theatre in Vila Real. Mátria – aqui na terra – first original opera created in the Trás-os-Montes & Alto Douro regions –, “tells a story of a boy who lives in a Trás-os-Montes village and who's fascinated with enchanting stories, believing in a treasure hidden inside the mountain where he takes his sheep. The boy becomes a restless man, looking for peace outside. He comes across other lives, each of them with an anxiety of its own. And it's when the old age sticks to the bones, that the old man feels the urge to return, in search for the boy's certainties.” This project is musically directed by Jan Wierzba, staged by Ángel Fragua and performed by Ana Maria Pinto, Ana Santos, Job Tomé, Madalena Tomé, Mário João Alves, Paulo Lapa, Tiago Matos, Mátria Community Choir, Moços do Coro and the Mátria Orchestra (with members from the Banda Sinfónica Transmontana/ Douro Strings Academy).

In December Hugo Vasco Reis' music will be presented in Portugal and in Switzerland. Three acousmatic works by this composer published by the MIC.PT have been selected for the Sonic Matter 2021 Festival, taking place in Zurich until December 5. In this context, his pieces Eco de Cristal (2018), Pulsação Infinita (2018) & Sons Umbilicais (2018), will be presented between December 4 & 5 at the Walchturm Raum (Weichekissen-Heisseohren · 48h listening & video lounge). Additionally, his new piece Outono Disruptiva (2021) for recorder, cello & piano, commissioned by the Trio Piazzolla Lisboa (António Carrilho, Catherine Strynckx & Helena Vasques), will be premiered at the Virgínia Theatre in Torres Novas (December 7) & at the DME Festival in Seia (December 19). Finally, the exhibition Num Único Acorde, a video-installation and painting by Pedro Vaz (the project's author) with Hugo Vasco Reis' music, is open to the public at the Centro de Arte Caja de Burgos in Spain, until January 23.

Igor C. Silva's work, My Empty Hands (2018; commission: Drumming – Percussion Group) for flexible percussion ensemble, electronics and video, will be performed by the UIC Percussion Ensemble/ Jordan Kamps, on December 3 at the University of Illinois Chicago Theatre (USA). This concert makes part of the cycle Fall 2021 Music Concerts of the UIC School of Theatre & Music in Chicago. The recording of this piece, performed by the Drumming – Percussion Group (Miquel Bernat, João Miguel Braga Simões, João Dias and Daniel Araújo), has been published on the composer's YouTube Channel in November. Additionally, the trailer of Igor C. Silva's new multimedia opera Follow (commission: Gaudeamus/ Miso Music Portugal) – with libretto by Aaron Landsman, performed by Stephanie Pan and the Klang Ensemble –, is also available on the YouTube Channel of this composer published by the MIC.PT. On December 9 the opera will be presneted at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels.

Two new works by Jaime Reis, composer published by the MIC.PT, will be premiered this December. The first one entitled, Látigo. Pele. (2021), constitutes a commission by the Trio Piazzolla Lisboa, with António Carrilho (recorders), Catherine Strynckx (cello) and Helena Vasques (piano), and it will be performed by this group at the Virgínia Theatre in Torres Novas (December 7) and also in the context of the DME Festival in Seia (December 19). Another Jaime Reis' new work will be premiered by the Drumming – Percussion Group on December 18, also during the Electroacoustic Music Days Festival in Seia. “In my case, composition always involves an idea, what doesn't mean that this idea can't result from experimentation, whether it's lived in a more or less methodical way. There is, however, a principle that interests me: the capacity to reproduce what I have done. And for this one needs a method. For me there are dimensions in composition, whose perception is profoundly influenced by the way how the 'micro' and 'macro' structures and conceived and connected. This type of work isn't new. Perhaps the concepts have changed. It can be observed, for example, while analysing a symphony by Haydn or a sonata by Beethoven” – said Jaime Reis in the Interview given to the MIC.PT in October 2016

On December 11 João Castro Pinto will participate in an Electroacoustic Poetry performance, presented at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon with Helena Costa Carvalho and Sofia A. Carvalho, in the context of the release of these two authors' works, respectively: Vocalise and Vogal Absoluta (Editora Urutau 2021). In the framework of this release João Castro Pinto (electronics/ real-time processing) and the authors propose, in the first part, a performance exploring the multiple sonic and semantic aspects of the poetic word. This concert is the continuation of the activities by the electroacoustic poetry duo, João Castro Pinto and Sofia A. Carvalho, who since 2018 have presented themselves at live performances in the USA, Switzerland and Portugal, and on CD (Hiante, Grimaces Éditions 2019). The second moment of the O'culto performance will be focused on the spatialisation, via the Loudspeaker Orchestra, of new pieces created by this composer published by the MIC.PT. Additionally, the short film Scopaesthesia by Nolan McWhorter, with João Castro Pinto's sound design and experimental soundtrack, has been selected by the North American Festival Another Hole in the Head 2021 (San Francisco), to integrate the online programme (stream on demand) of the event's 18th edition, between December 1 and 15.

On December 12 the O'cutlo da Ajuda in Lisbon will host João Madureira's Birthday Party, with the participation of the musicians from the Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble – Sílvia Cancela (flute), Nuno Pinto (clarinet) and Elsa Silva (piano); of Susana Teixeira (mezzo-soprano), João Pereira Coutinho (flute) and Paulo Amorim (guitar); of the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group conducted by Vasco Pearce de Azevedo; and of the ESML Choir conducted by Paulo Lourenço. The programme of this concert will include various works by this composer published by the MIC.PT, who in 2021 celebrates his 50th anniversary; the works are: Open Inclusion for solo clarinet (2020-2021; world premiere), Encontro for flute and piano (2000), Somente for mezzo-soprano, flute and guitar (1999; Portuguese premiere), Coração for mezzo-soprano and ensemble (2015) and Redobra, para Adília for eight a cappella voices (2017-2021). “For me the composer should be somebody able to reflect on the reality of the present time and not somebody closed in his or her own technical and aesthetic world” – said João Madureira in the MIC.PT Interview from October 2021.

The work City Walk (2021) for percussion by João Pedro Oliveira, composer published by the MIC.PT, makes part of the performance A Fog Machine e outros poemas para o teu regresso, which will be presented on December 10 at the Cine-Teatro Avenida in Castelo Branco. This is a new project by the percussionist Nuno Aroso, combining music by various composers (João Pedro Oliveira, Arturo Fuentes, Martín Bauer and Lei Liang), with the work by the writer Gonçalo M. Tavares and with staging by João Reis, who also appears on stage with Nuno Aroso. This project is a performance on time, existence and fog machines, metaphors of the past and the future. Another work by João Pedro Oliveira, Coalescence (2021), is included in the programme of the Psychedelic Film and Music Festival in New York, USA (December 9-12). “Coalescence is the process of joining or merging elements to form one mass or whole. In this visual music piece, both visual materials and music join and separate themselves in distinct units, forming shapes and sounds that are the combination of elements joined together” – explains the composer in the programme notes.

The multimedia opera Salt Itinerary (2003-06) by Miguel Azguime is winner in the context of the international call released by the Le Meraviglie Del Possibile Festival. In this sense the work will be performed on December 3 and 4 at the Cyber Theatre in Cagliari (Italy), by the Miso Ensemble – with Miguel Azguime responsible for the opera's concept, music/ text composition and performance, and Paula Azguime for the staging, video composition, live electronics and sound diffusion; as well as with Perseu Mandillo (video directing, live video & computer assistance) and Andre Bartetzki (video programming). Another work by Miguel Azguime (composer published by the MIC.PT), Aliterações de Água (2017) for soprano and electronics, is included in the programme of the recitals by Camila Mandillo (soprano) and Elsa Silva (piano), which will be taking place on December 15 and 16, respectively, at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon (Antena 2 Concert) and at the Teatro da Rainha in Caldas da Rainha. The programme of these concerts is also composed of two other pieces from the 20th century: Sieben frühe Lieder by Alban Berg and Apparition by George Crumb.

In the final of October, at the Colégio Mateus d’Aranda Auditorium (University of Évora), Ricardo Matosinhos, composer publish by the MIC.PT and horn player, presented his final doctoral recital which included his own works as well as by Jeffrey Agrell, performed by Damien Nunes (horn) and Isolda Crespi Rubio (piano). The recital was followed by Ricardo Matosinhos' Defense of his Doctoral Thesis entitled Definition and analysis of the idiomatic elements present in a selection of works written by horn players. The thesis demystifies and clarifies the idiomatic aspects of writing for horn. The research realised in the context of the thesis was based on a set of 14 works for horn composed by horn players since 2016. This work allows the horn players to make interpretative decisions with a scientific background, giving the composers the opportunity to become more familiar with this instrument. The Jury present at the defense was constituted by: professor Eduardo Lopes (President), Fausto Neves (Member), professor Carlos Caires (Member), professor Rui Penha (Member) and professor Monika Streitová (Thesis Supervisor).

Taurus (2021) for flute, clarinet, toy piano, violin and cello, is a new work by Sara Carvalho, composer published by the MIC.PT, which will be premiered on December 19 in the context of the concert entitled Constellations, at the Salone Musa – Associazione Carducci in Como (Italy). The programme of this concert performed by the Appassionato Ensemble with Antonietta Loffredo (toy piano), will also include pieces by various other composers: A. Mattevi, Tsu-Yao Yang, M. Khayami, U. Pedraglio, D. Blom, G. Luppi and M. Zavala. Additionally, Sara Carvalho makes part of the jury of the Prémio Musa 2022, an initiative by the MPMP Património Musical Vivo, supported by the Ministry of Culture/ Direção Geral das Artes and the José Saramago Foundation. During this edition, with the submissions open until August 31, the Prémio Musa celebrates the work of José Saramago, in the context of the writer's centenary in 2022. The other jury members are Luís Tinoco and Juan Pablo Carreño. The submitted works should be composed for one or two voices and a 5-instrument ensemble to be selected among the ones listed in the competition rules.

In the year of Astor Piazzolla's centenary, the Trio Piazzolla Lisboa presents the work Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas by this Argentinian composer, together with new premiere works commissioned to the three composers published by the MIC.PT: António Chagas Rosa, Hugo Vasco Reis and Jaime Reis; as well as to Hugo Ribeiro. In response to the challenge of writing new music influenced by Piazzolla's work, these Portuguese creators have composed other four seasons, contrasting with the pieces by the Argentinian composer. In December the performances of this programme by the Trio Piazzolla Lisboa, with António Carrilho (recorders), Catherine Strynckx (cello) and Helena Vasques (piano), will take place at the Virgínia Theatre in Torres Novas (December 7) and at the DME Festival in Seia (December 19).

The third edition of the Itinerant Percussion Festival, an initiative by the Arte no Tempo association, is being realised a year later than originally scheduled, between December 27 and 30 at the Casa da Música in Porto. This Festival, composed of master classes and concerts, joins three different groups of percussionists: professional percussion players guiding the work, higher education students preparing themselves for professional life, and secondary education students looking for guidance to follow the higher education course. The Festival's programme includes the music by various composers published by the MIC.PT, including: Igor C. Silva (Zone #1 performed by João Tiago Dias), João Pedro Oliveira (Broken Loops performed by Nuno Aroso and João Pedro Lourenço; City Walk performed by Nuno Aroso) and Lino Guerreiro (Just performed by Eduardo Lopes). At the Festival's final concert three percussion septets directed by Miquel Bernat, Marco Fernandes and João Tiago Dias, will premiere three new works (commissioned by the Arte no Tempo association): one by Cândido Lima, composer published by the MIC.PT, entitled HOQUETUS – tambores de Maio (2020); as well as Music for percussion (2020) by João Carlos Pinto and MSTRNG – TRLD (2020) by Rita Torres.

In November the Espaço Crítica para a Nova Música/ New Music Review Lounge has published two new texts (in Portuguese) dedicated to the Música Viva 2021 Festival, which took place between November 6 and 20 at the O'culto da Ajuda in Lisbon – O fio do som interior by Pedro Boléo and o subterrâneo e subtil ruído da seiva by Tiago Schwäbl. The first review Pedro Boléo dedicates to the Música Viva 2021 opening concert, 50 Years of Spectral Music, where the Sond'Ar-te Electric Ensemble + conducted by Petter Sundkvist performed works by João Madureira, Gérard Grisey, Miguel Azguime and Györgi Ligeti. The second review, by Tiago Schwäbl, is dedicated to the two concerts from the Festival's last week: the first one entitled Mémoire... Mirroir e O Aprendiz de Novos Sons, during which the Duo Sigma, with the pianist Ana Cláudia Assis and the cellist Miguel Rocha, performed the music of Andreia Pinto-Correia, Carlos Marecos, Christopher Bochmann, Eduardo Luís Patriarca, João Pedro Oliveira and Mariana Vieira; and the second one entitled A correr à frente do relâmpago, performed by the Duo Sond'Ar-te (Sílvia Cancela on flute and Elsa Silva on piano), with music by Doina Rotaru, Jonathan Harvey, Miguel Azguime, Rui Penha and Sara Carvalho. In the beginning of December the Espaço Crítica para a Nova Música will publish two more texts dedicated to the Música Viva 2021 written by Pedro Boléo and Tiago Schwäbl, two authors who have closely accompanied the Festival.

Two more creators have recently joined the Group of Composers Published by the MIC.PT: Eli Camargo Júnior and Filipe Esteves. Presently, the Catalogue of Scores Published by the MIC.PT includes two works by the former composer – Music With Dance Inside (2021; ECamJr0001) and Solo a Solo (2012; ECamJr0002); as well as two works by the latter – untitled (2006; FEst0002) and Vislumbre (2011; FEst0001). During the following months the MIC.PT will publish various other scores by Eli Camargo Júnior and Filipe Esteves. Presently, the Catalogue of Scores Published by the MIC.PT includes 1096 scores by 75 composers residing in Portugal.

In December the entities integrating the riZoma – Portuguese Platform for Intervention and Research in New Music, will meet in the context of the 9th online Meeting, to define the next steps within the development of this new network, which intends to foment the approximation with the audience, to stimulate a critical mass for intervention, to create dialogue with the trusteeship and to defend the richness and vitality of the contemporary-classical-music creation and practice. All the entities from the contemporary-classical-music area in Portugal, which would like to integrate the riZoma, can communicate their interest via the following e-mail: rizoma.plataforma@gmail.com.