Biography

Paulo Bastos was born in Vila Pouca de Aguiar. He began his musical studies at Escola de Música do Porto, under the guidance of Hélia Soveral. He studied composition at Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo do Porto, where he was awarded the ‘Prize for the best student on the course’ by Instituto Politécnico do Porto in 1994. In 2005, he completed his Master's degree in Music Analysis at Universidade de Aveiro.

Much of his work focuses on chamber music and music for children and young people, although he has also composed a significant number of orchestral works, works for solo instruments and electronic music. Some premieres, recordings, dedications and commissions of his music have been performed or requested by renowned ensembles and musicians such as the Coro de Pequenos Cantores de Esposende, Duo Jost Costa, Doppio Ensemble, Grupo Música Nova, Jovens Cantores de Guimarães, Kinetix Duo, Kla-Vier Duo, L'Effetto Ensemble, Nomad Duo, Orquestra de Cordas Dedilhadas do Minho, Orquestra Portuguesa de Guitarras e Bandolins, Quad Quartet, Síntese – Contemporary Music Group, Nomad Duo, Anne Mercier, Carlos Guilherme, Daniela Anjo, Domingos Costa, Dora Rodrigues, Elsa Silva, Fernando Ramos, Gileno Santana, João Tiago Magalhães, Jonathan Silva, Justin DeHart, Rui Gama, Rui Lopes, Sébastien Paul, Shun Sasaki, among others. Some of his works have been published in sheet music and CD format by APEM, Artway Editions, Arpejo Editora, Association Bar&Co, AVA Musical Editions, Mic.pt, Porto Editora, Revista Salicus, Scherzo Editions, Sonoscopia, and Universidade do Minho.

His music has been regularly performed in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland, South Africa, Spain and United States of America. He established the first secondary-level composition programme in Portugal. Founded in 2000 at Conservatório de Música Calouste Gulbenkian, the programme has since then produced a new and already substantial generation of composers known as the Braga School of Composition.