Fátima is a Portuguese composer born in 1983. In June 2012 she graduated with an MA in Composition from the Conservatorium of Music of Amsterdam, having Richard Ayres as the main teacher. Previously she studied for a BA at ESMAE, Porto.
Her fascination with vocal music, along with the will to learn different musical traditions, has taken her to India – where she studied North Indian Classical Music with the singer Aparna Gurav (2009-2010). Afterwards, in the course of her Master of Arts, she researched Portuguese Traditional Vocal Music. As part of her interest in theatre and voice, she composed and performed the music for a storytelling show – Speechless – presented at the Ostadetheater (Amsterdam) in April 2013.
Recent performances of her work have been given by the Icarus Ensemble (Italy), who played her piece Floating in Italy and in the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival 2012 (UK). In February 2013 she participated in the Young Composers Meeting in Apeldoorn (Holland), having her piece A bird in the garden performed by orkest de erepris. This piece was also played during the Gaudeamus Week (Holland’s festival for new music) in September 2013.
Following her stayings in India and Amsterdam, Fátima is now living in Porto. Here she works with Teatro de Ferro, composing and playing music for the theatre company’s shows. With Teatro de Ferro Fátima has performed at several theatres – Teatro do Campo Alegre, Centro Cultural Vila Flor, Teatro São Luiz, Théâtre Agora (Evry-Essone, Paris) – and participates in several programmes and activities involving music and theatre.