Vasco Dantas

Portuguese pianist Vasco Silva Dantas Rocha was born in Porto in 1992 and has recently obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Music with “Distinction” at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in London, with the Russian Prof. Dmitri Alexeev and the South-African Niel Immelman. He is currently doing a Masters degree in Performance under the guidance of the German Prof. Heribert Koch at University of Münster, in Germany.

Vasco has won several prizes in international competitions, including the “Esther Fisher Prize” at RCM Chappell Medal Competition, “Antena 2 Prize”, “Henry Wood Trust Prize 2011 & 2012”, “Casa da Música Prize 2009”, and the following First Prizes: Ría de Vigo Piano Competition, Alto Minho International Piano Competition, International Piano Competition of Fundão, the “Florinda Santos” International Piano Competition, and the Santa Cecilia International Piano Competition (Porto), as well as the Maestro Ivo Cruz Chamber Music Competition.

At the age of six, Vasco performed live for the Portuguese National TV (RTP1), and made his first public appearance at the Porto Tram Museum, selected for his virtuosity among the students of the Estrelita Yamaha Music School, in Porto, where he had started learning the piano at the age of 4. He has also performed and been interviewed live by Portuguese National Radio and by Porto TV Channel.

In 2000 he was admitted with honours at Porto Music Conservatory, where he studied with the Swedish Prof. Rosgard Lingardson, concluding in 2010 his studies with the highest marks. Vasco has actively participated in a great number of piano masterclasses with many well-known professors such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Peter Donohoe, Boris Berman, Artur Pizarro, Dmitri Alexeev, John Lill, Philippe Cassard, Álvaro Teixeira Lopes, Luiz de Moura Castro, Yuri Bogdanov, Andrew Ball, Pedro Burmester, Fausto Neves, Ian Jones, Betty Haag-Kuhnke, Cristina Ortiz and Sergei Covalenco.

Since the age of 7, Vasco has also been studying the violin with Prof. José Paulo Jesus. He achieved distinction as a violinist in the Momentum Perpetuum Orchestra, in the “Official Youth Orchestra of Portuguese Music Conservatories” (OJCOM) and as concertmaster in the Lisbon Metropolitan Young Orchestra.

In January of 2011 Vasco made his piano recital debut in the renowned “Sala Suggia” at Porto Casa da Música. He has also performed solo with Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto, Orquestra Sinfónica do Espírito Santo, Orquestra do Norte, and has worked with conductors such as Martin André, Victor Toro, Günter Neuhold, Nicholas Kok and Pedro Neves.

Vasco has performed in hundreds of musical events in a series of renowned auditoriums in United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Spain, France and Greece. He has been invited to make CD recordings for Galician Radio and KNS Classical label (Spain).

“A safe bet among the next generation of musicians”
Porto Casa da Música

“Intensity and sweetness… Talent, creativity and strength are the hallmarks of this young pianist…”
Álvaro Teixeira Lopes, Pianist

“A talent artist with a refined touch at the piano”
John Lill, Pianist

“A sensitive and intelligent musician”
Dmitri Alexeev, Pianist