Carlos Lopes (1995) is a Portuguese composer, conductor and pianist, particularly interested in collaborative projects with ensembles of instrumental or vocal music, as well as electroacoustics, improvisation and exploration of new performance formats - both as a composer and a conductor.
Young Composer-In-Residence at Casa da Música in Porto during 2021, his commissioned works were premiered by the Porto Symphonic Orchestra and the Remix Ensemble. In 2024 he finished his master’s degree in Composition with Miroslav Srnka at Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne and is currently completing a master’s degree in New Music Conducting with Susanne Blumenthal at the same institution, where he frequently conducts the ColLAB Cologne ensemble and assists in new music related projects.
His previous studies at Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo in Porto, from 2013 to 2020, include a bachelor’s degree in piano in the class of Constantin Sandu and a bachelor’s in composition, under the tutelage of Pedro Santos, Dimitrios Andrikopoulos and Carlos Azevedo.
In July 2018, his string quartet tragoidia won the 2nd prize at the 11th edition of “Póvoa de Varzim’s International Composition Competition”. In 2019, 5 Variações do Desassossego was premiered by the Gulbenkian Orchestra and baritone Tiago Matos, as part of the “ENOA – Composing for Voices” workshop mentored by Luís Tinoco. In 2020 he wrote Clepsydra, commissioned by Antena 2/RTP for Prémio Jovens Músicos as a mandatory piece for the Cello category – superior level.
In 2022, his piece Artefacst was awarded a recommendation in the category “Composers Under 30” by the 68th International Rostrum of Composers (ROSTRUM+) in Belgrade. In 2025, he made his debut as a conductor with the Filarmonia das Beiras Orchestra, as part of the 5th edition of the Reencontros de Música Contemporânea in Aveiro. In the same year, he was awarded the 1st Prize of SPA / Antena 2 Composition for his orchestral work Rasgos de Luz.
He also participated in masterclasses, lectures and workshops with Peter Rundel, Helmut Lachenmann, Harrison Birtwistle, Philippe Manoury, Clara Ianotta, Rebecca Saunders, Ensemble Mosaik in collaboration with Luís Antunes Pena, Alexander Schubert, Johannes Schöllhorn, João Pedro Oliveira, Panayiotis Kokoras and Moritz Eggert.
(last update_10.3.2026)