Joao Goncalves

Biography

   João Pedro Gonçalves started playing the cello at the age of 12 with Ana Cláudia Serrão as his mentor, in Lisbon. Later, he studied with Marco Pereira and Paulo Gaio Lima, also in Lisbon.

   In recent years, he has had the opportunity to work with many professors, such as: Levon Mouradian, Kyril Zlotnikov, Daniel Grosgurin, Marc Coppey, Maria de Macedo, Adrian Brendel, Morten Zeuthen, Gary Hoffman, Alain Gervreau (baroque cello), among others.

   He also worked with many of the world’s leading conductors, including Lorenzo Viotti, Pedro Neves, Nuno Coelho, Giancarlo Guerrero, Ulysses Ascanio, Jean-Marc Burfin, Jan Wierzba, Gustavo Dudamel and many others.

   João Pedro Gonçalves has won first prizes in: Concurso Capela (2016), Concurso Nacional de Cordas Vasco Barbosa (2017), Prémio Fundação Inatel (2019) and most recently Prémio Jovens Músicos (2021, over 18 category). He also won second prizes at: Concurso Internacional da Cidade do Fundão, in 2017 (where he also received the best interpretation of a Portuguese piece) and Prémio Jovens Músicos (2018, under 18 category).

   He has performed as a soloist with many orchestras, such as: Orquestra Académica Metropolitana, Orquestra Profissional Metropolitana, Camarata Atlântica, Orquestra Geração and Orquestra Gulbenkian.

   In 2020, João Pedro Gonçalves participated in the Yellow Barn Festival Young Artists Program (USA) and this year, 2021, he has been invited again to participate in this festival. In the past few months, he has participated in masterclasses with Gary Hoffman in several places, such as Saline Royale Academy and Les Rencontres Musicales de Noyers and he also participated in the Festival Young Talent in Schiermonnikoog (The Netherlands), where he performed in concerts and had classes with Jeroen Reuling.

   In September 2021, João Pedro Gonçalves was awarded the Maestro Silva Pereira Prize – Young Musician of the Year 2020/21 in addition to the first prize in the cello category.
   He is currently studying with Jeroen Reuling at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Between 2020 and 2021, he played on a modern cello, kindly loaned by the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. At the moment, he plays on a cello made by Tanguy Fraval on loan from Strings For Talent and the King Baudouin Foundation, in memory of Bonno H. Hylkema.