João Pedro Silva

João Pedro Silva finds his place in artistic freedom, and his voice in the saxophone. His passion for diversity and the blending of aesthetics has shaped a path he has been building for over 25 years.

An international artist for YAMAHA and D’ADDARIO WOODWINDS, João Pedro Silva regularly performs as a soloist, with highlights including concerts with the GNR Chamber Orchestra, the Portuguese Symphonic Band, the Metropolitana Wind Orchestra, the Sinfonietta of Lisbon, the Portuguese Navy Band, the Metropolitana Percussion Ensemble, the Liceu Saxophone Ensemble (Barcelona), the SFH Music Band, and the Double Reed Ensemble, among others. As a guest artist, he has played with several ensembles, including the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Metropolitana Orchestra of Lisbon, the Hot Club of Portugal Big Band, the Sinfonietta of Lisbon, and the Lisbon Soloists Orchestra, working with renowned conductors such as Eric Stearn, Alain Guingal, and Wayne Marshall.

He represented Portugal at the XIV, XVII, and XVIII World Saxophone Congresses in Ljubljana, Strasbourg, and Zagreb, respectively, performing with the Duo João Pedro Silva and Pedro Vieira de Almeida, the Artemsax Quartet, the BROS Quartet, fusiON OUT, the Tenor Saxophone Collective, the D’Addario Ensemble, and the Metropolitana Saxophone Ensemble. He was also invited to speak at a conference on new musical pedagogy in saxophone learning.

João Pedro Silva is a founding member of the international saxophone quartet BROS Quartet, with which he recorded and released the album Pagine by Salvatore Sciarrino, published by the Italian label Stradivarius. He received recognition from the Ministry of Culture for the Entre Paredes album/performance by the Artemsax Quartet, which was declared of “Cultural Relevance.” With the same quartet, he toured Guinea-Bissau by invitation of the Camões Institute and the Portuguese Embassy in Bissau. The Artemsax Quartet also won the Carlos Paredes Prize for best Portuguese music album of 2016 (tied with the album by fado singer Ricardo Ribeiro). João Pedro Silva was awarded the Gold Grade Municipal Merit Medal by the Municipality of Palmela.

He regularly collaborates artistically with various composers, creating new repertoire for saxophone. He has maintained an ongoing partnership with Antena 2 on multiple projects. João Pedro Silva served as a guest juror for the 32nd edition of the Young Musicians Award. As a soloist, he released the albums TIBI – New Portuguese and American Contemporary Music for Saxophone and João Pedro Silva Performs Jorge Salgueiro volumes I and II — the first two volumes of a discographic trilogy aiming to record the complete saxophone works of composer Jorge Salgueiro (featuring Pedro Vieira de Almeida on piano, Pedro Santos on accordion, the Artemsax Quartet, and the Metropolitana Saxophone Ensemble). He also released HOME, music for tenor saxophone by Andy Scott.

Co-author with Lino Guerreiro of the book O Saxofone Pedagógico, the first Portuguese method for saxophone learning, published by AVA Musical Editions with a foreword by Claude Delangle, professor at the Conservatoire de Paris.

João Pedro Silva is a member of the BROS Quartet, Artemsax, the Duo Pedro Santos and João Pedro Silva, L.U.M.E. – Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble, the Duo João Pedro Silva and Pedro Vieira de Almeida, the Tenor Saxophone Collective, and TERRA. With these groups, he has performed extensively in Portugal and abroad, releasing various recordings. He is a professor of Saxophone and Chamber Music at the Escola Profissional de Música da Metropolitana and the Conservatório Regional de Palmela.

He is a founding member and vice-president of the APS – Portuguese Saxophone Association. He was involved in organizing EURSAX 17, the European Saxophone Congress. He is the artistic director of the FISP – Palmela International Saxophone Festival and the Metropolitana Saxophone Ensemble.

Born in Palmela, João Pedro Silva began his musical studies at the Sociedade Filarmónica Humanitária with Professor Silvério Camolas. He studied at the Escola Profissional de Música de Almada with Alberto Roque, at the Escola de Jazz Luís Villas-Boas (Hot Clube de Portugal) with Pedro Moreira, and at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa with José Massarrão. He also took masterclasses with Daniel Deffayet, James Houlik, Jean-Marie Londeix, Claude Delangle, Jean-Yves Fourmeau, Vincent David, Carlos Martins, and Jerry Bergonzi, among others. He completed a Master’s degree in Music Performance (Saxophone) and a Master’s in Music Teaching (Saxophone) at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Performance at the University of Évora and has been awarded prizes in numerous national and international competitions.