Rui C. Antunes
Rui C. Antunes (1995, Torres Novas) began his musical studies at the age of 7 at the Conservatório de Música do Choral Phydellius (violin). Later he also studied piano, having also attended the course of Analysis and Composition Techniques with Professor Jorge Pereira, starting to compose by this time.
From 2013 to 2017 he studies violin with Professor Aníbal Lima at the National Superior Academy of Orchestra, in Lisbon, and in 2017 he joins the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (HMT) "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Leipzig, Germany, where he currently studies with Professor Friedemann Wezel.
In the field of Chamber Music he studied with Professor Paul Wakabayashy, Professor Artur Pizarro in Lisbon, and currently with the Professors Frank Reinecke, Hanns-Martin Schreiber, and Caspar Franz in Leipzig.
He took part in Violin Masterclasses with Benjamin Schmid, Jack Liebeck, Friedemann Wezel, Aníbal Lima, and Roberto Valdés; and Chamber Music with Étienne Lamaison, Marie-Luise Neunecker and Isabel Charisius. He also took violin lessons with Kathrin Ten-Hagen, H. W. Mehling, Noah Inui, Heime Müller, and Daniel Sepec.
As a violinist he has been a member of several orchestras, including the Orquestra Académica Metropolitana, the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, the Orquestra de Câmara de Almada, the Lisbon Film Orchestra, the Hochschulsinfonieorchester (HSO) of HMT Leipzig, the Kammerakademie of the Stadtkapelle of Halle, and the Ensemble Mpmp, working with conductors such as Michael Zilm, Emilio Pomàrico, Scott Sandmeier, Pedro Carneiro, Pedro Neves, Pedro Amaral, among others.
He was awarded the 3rd Prize ex-aequo, level V, International Competition "Cidade do Fundão", Violin variant (2012) – Fundão, Portugal; and a Honourable Mention, Superior Level, II National Strings Competition of Vasco Barbosa (2016) – Lisbon, Portugal.
Rui also has a Violin and Piano duo with the Spanish pianist Miguel Leal with whom he seeks to play mostly less known Portuguese repertoire, having played several concerts and recitals in Portugal, Spain, and Germany.
Without formal studies in Composition, in 2016 he had his debut as a composer, in a monographic concert with pieces exclusively by him. Also this year, he was one of the Composers selected in "Música Nova 2016" to have works of Chamber Music premiered by soloists of the Cascais and Oeiras Chamber Orchestra.
On July 23, 2019 the 1st Prize and Public Prize will be awarded at the 12th International Composition Competition of Póvoa de Varzim, as part of the 41st Póvoa de Varzim International Music Festival, for the piece "Dois Personagens Portugueses".
His music has already been played in Portugal (several venues in Lisbon, Cascais, Oeiras, Póvoa de Varzim, and Torres Novas), Spain (León - Eutherpe Concert Hall, Fundación Eutherpe), Germany (Leipzig - Hochschule für Music und Theater and the Stadtsbibliothek), and Belgium (Antwerp - Koninklijk Conservatorium).
