João Ricardo

João Ricardo is a Portuguese composer based in Lisbon. A former private student of Luís Soldado, and currently a doctoral researcher at the University of Évora, supported by FCT, under the supervision of Pedro Amaral. He was mentored in workshops and masterclasses by composers such as Jessie Marino, Sara Carvalho, Alastair White, Sérgio Azevedo, Michelle Agnes Magalhães, Luis Naón, Åke Parmerud, Jaime Reis, among others.

Ricardo was Composer in Residence at Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras in 2022, and the recipient of several international prizes including the 6th Mauricio Kagel Composition Competition (2nd prize), the 4th International Contest of Choral Composition UAH (3rd prize), the 2022 Terras de Santiago International Music Contest (1st prize), or the 2021 Carlos de Ponte Leça Prize. His operatic and theatrical music has been commissioned and recurrently performed by Réptil Artes Performativas (O que se esconde no silêncio, 2024), Musicamera Produções (Vivos até á morte, 2024), Conservatório Caldas da Rainha (Som à vista, 2024), Quarteto Contratempus (Torre da Memória, 2023; O que vai para o mar, 2022), Operafest Lisboa (Minotauro, 2022; Eco/Arquipélago, 2020), and Inestética (a dor de todas as ruas vazias, 2019). His chamber music features in albums such as Oboé e Piano em Português, vol. 2 (Duo David Costa e Pedro Ferro), Motirõ (Amanda Carpenedo), Prémio Musa 2022 (Ensemble MPMP), and one in one (vol. 2) (Andrew Noseworthy).

His academic texts are included in publications such as “Paisagens Sonoras em Expansão” (Margem da Palavra), “New Approaches to Sound, Music, and Media” (Bloomsbury Publishing), “Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology”, among others. He’s affiliated with GIMC: Contemporary Music Research Group (CESEM FCSH/UNL) and PASEV: Patrimonialization of Évora’s Soundscape (CESEM UÉvora). He also collaborates regularly with AREPO – Associação de Ópera e Artes Contemporâneas in score engraving and technical assistance.