Cândido Fernandes

Cândido Fernandes is an accompanist and chamber music teacher at the National Conservatory’s School of Music (EAMCN). He is currently on secondment from the Ministry of Education to the National Agency for Qualifications and Vocational Education (ANQEP, I.P.), where he works in the Department of Youth Qualifications. He was born in 1989 and in 2001 enrolled at the Porto Conservatory of Music in Professor Manuela Costa’s piano class. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the Lisbon Higher School of Music, where he studied with professors Jorge Moyano and Michel Gal, and a master’s degree from the University of Évora with pianist Ana Telles. He also holds a postgraduate degree in School Administration from ISCTE — Instituto Universitário de Lisboa. Among the various national and international awards he has received in piano and chamber music, the Young Musicians Award (2008) in Chamber Music — advanced level stands out, with the Duo XaSonaiP, of which he is a founding member. He has participated in projects spanning various artistic and musical genres, including opera, theater, and musical theater, performing a repertoire ranging from classical to pop, jazz, and fado. He regularly collaborates with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, and the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra.

Since 2009, he has performed in concerts with the Lisbon Contemporary Music Group, working directly with composers on the creation and recording of new Portuguese music.