It's already on May 4, at 6:00 pm at Casa da Música, that the winner of the second edition of the Ageas New Talents Award will be announced. Bernardo Pinhal and Sérgio de A (piano duo), Ricardo Coelho (jazz quartet) and Luís Duarte Moreira (horn) are the finalists.

The finalists were preferred by the public, who evaluated the performance of the candidate artists at each of the 20 concerts held throughout 2018. The winner in 2019 will again be chosen by the audience at Casa da Música through a ballot paper, in a final concert scheduled for May 4, where they will be present the three finalists. The Ageas New Talents Award, a partnership of the Ageas Group with the Casa da Música Foundation, aims to distinguish and encourage the work of young musicians aged up to 35 years and of Portuguese nationality or residing in Portugal, of all musical genres, in the areas of creation, performance and/or performance on stage, and promote artistic projects of recognized quality.

In the 2017 edition, Horácio Ferreira was the winner of the first edition of the Ageas New Talents Awards. The young clarinetist, who played C. Duke Weber's Grand Duo Concertant and Shalom Aleichem, Rov Feidman of B. Kovács, accompanied by the pianist Bernardo Soares, received the highest number of votes from the audience.

"This partnership is one more step of the Ageas Portugal Group in the cultural dynamization of our country. The New Age Talent Awards are one of the good examples of our heterogeneous bet in Portuguese culture from north to south of the country, support for young talents, which we extend to other areas such as the arts, literacy, social projects or even in the area of ​​the sport", says Inês Simões, Director Corporate Communication and Brand of the Ageas Portugal Group.

About the Finalists:

Bernardo Pinhal

He started playing the piano when he was five. After completing his degree at the ESMAE - School of Music and Performing Arts in Porto, he was awarded a scholarship to the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid. In 2016, he completed his MSc in Performance, in Basel, as a fellow of the Gulbenkian Foundation. He was the winner of several competitions, including the Marília Rocha Competition (2009), the Fundão International Competition (2010) and the Santa Cecília Competition (2013). He won the 2nd Prize at the San Sebastian International Piano Competition (2011), the EMCY (European Union of Music Competitions for Youth) special prize and the 2nd prize at the Young Musicians Competition in 2014.

Sérgio de A

Licensed by ESMAE with the maximum rating. Winner of the Helena Sá e Costa Prize, the Maria Campina Prize and later the Best Pianist Prize of the Rotary Club Contest, Sérgio de A has been developing an eclectic activity as a concert performer with presence in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, USA and Russia. Integrated in chamber music groupings, he participated in festivals such as Appuntamenti of Rome or Sons of the Universe in the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow, as well as in the Gulbenkian Museum or in the House of Music, among others.

Ricardo Coelho

Licensed by ESMAE in Vibraphone Jazz. As a performer, he integrates projects from different roots, such as MINA, Capicua, Diana Martínez & the Crib, EduMundo, Rui Vilhena & the Allies, The Mantra of the pHat-Lotus, The Grilo and the Longifolia, Renato Mont Trio, and leader of his own group, Ricardo Coelho Quartet. He collaborated with several orchestras, including the Symphonic House of Music and the Filarmonia das Beiras. Conquered the 3rd place, category Combo Jazz, in the Prize Young Musicians 2016; the Honorable Mention of Best Instrumentalist at the 11th São Luiz Jazz Festival (2013); the 2nd place in the vibraphone category at the 6th edition of "Giornate della Percussione" (Italy, 2008) and 1st place in the "Tum-pa-Tum-pa" contest (2007).

Luís Duarte Moreira

He graduated from ESMAE with the highest marks. He received the 1st Prize in the "Terras de La Salette" Competition in the Junior and Senior categories, the 2nd Prize in the Internationaler Instrumental Wettbewerb Markneukirchen (Germany, 2016) and the 1st Prize in the Upper Horn category at the Young Musicians Prize (2017). He is a founding member of the Klaue Wind Quintet, with which he obtained the 2nd Prize at the Young Musicians Prize (2015), in the superior category. He collaborates with several orchestras, such as Filarmonia das Beiras, Metropolitana, Gulbenkian, Symphonic House of Music and Symphony of Galicia. He is finishing his Master's Degree in Performance at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, as a fellow of the Gulbenkian Foundation.

Learn more at: www.grupoageas.pt/sobre-o-grupo-ageas/parcerias-epatrocinios/casa-da-musica/premio-novos-talentos-ageas-2018