Piano
Melissa Fidalgo Fontoura was born in Vilarandelo, municipality of Valpaços, district of Vila Real. She began her piano studies at the age of six with professor Francisco Dieguez Doutel, at Escola de Música Osnabruck.
Alongside her music education, she attended the Humanities course at Liceu Fernão Magalhães in Chaves.
She continued her artistic training at Conservatório Regional de Guimarães and later at Conservatório de Música do Porto, where she completed the 8th Grade with a score of 18 out of 20, under the guidance of pianist and professor Constantin Sandu.
In 1998, she entered Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo, where she studied with prominent figures in the Portuguese music scene, such as Helena Sá e Costa, Madalena Soveral, Manuela Gouveia, Constantin Sandu, José Parra, Jaime Mota, Ryszard Wóycicki, Manuel Campos, and Miguel Bernat.
She attended the Conservatorio di Trieste, Italy, through the Erasmus programme, specialising in Piano Sight-Reading, Chamber Music, Piano, and Choir, under the guidance of pianist Massimo Gon. While living there, she developed extensive chamber music activity with pianist Alessandra Sagelli, with whom she formed a piano four-hands duo.
After returning to Portugal, she has dedicated herself to promoting Chamber Music and teaching.
She has performed numerous concerts, notably the interpretation of Béla Bartók’s Sonata for Piano and Percussion, under the guidance of José Parra, Manuel Campos, and Miguel Bernat; voice and piano recitals with various singers such as Nádia Fidalgo, José Corvelo, Eduarda Melo, Ariana Russo, and Rita Mourão; and a piano and clarinet duo with Vítor Pereira.
She has consistently worked as an accompanist pianist in courses, masterclasses, and projects with artists from various fields. She also worked as the pianist for the Coro Académico da Universidade do Minho, conducted by composer Fernando Lapa.
Recently, she took part in the Festival Internacional de Piano do Algarve, in a four-hands programme with pianist António Rosado. In the same formation, but with pianist Jill Lawson, she performed at the Museu Nadir Afonso, celebrating International Museum Day.
She has taught at several institutions, including Centro de Estudos Musicais (Porto), Academia de Música Costa Cabral (Porto), Academia de Música de Perosinho (Gaia), Conservatório de Vila Real, CCM (Artave), and Escola de Música do Colégio Moderno.
At Universidade de Aveiro, under the supervision of Professor Doutor António Chagas Rosa, she defended her Master’s Thesis on Traditional Music from the Trás-os-Montes region and its application to piano teaching.
In the field of composition, she has written several pieces for children and is preparing an album of her own music and poetry for children. She was also invited to compose and perform the soundtrack for the film 1×2, in which she participated alongside pianist António Rosado. Her works include pieces for piano, piano and voice, and string quartet.
She is also engaged in ethnomusicology projects, having published, together with José Sardinha, As Canções da Avó Guida, a book/CD/DVD based on collections of traditional songs and customs from Trás-os-Montes, gathered from her grandmother, Margarida Fidalgo.
With a strong interest in Chamber Music, she is co-founder of Trio In Tempore, with soprano Nádia Fidalgo and baritone José Corvelo, and Trio Garrett, with cellist Ângela Carneiro and violinist João Vieira de Andrade. With this ensemble, she created the project Azul, dedicated to the works of Claude Debussy and Impressionist poetry.
She currently works on the Novos Horizontes project of the Orquestra de Câmara Portuguesa, within the Municipality of Oeiras.
Alongside her career as a pianist and teacher, she also develops work in ceramics.