Q. Festival - Portuguese Music
Q.Festival-Portuguese Music returns to the English Church for their 2026 series. The first concert, featuring jazz and contemporary Portuguese music, will be performed by João Ferreira - piano and Maria Nascimento - vocals.
About the musicians
João Ferreira (born November 17, 2004) is a jazz pianist from Porto, Portugal. Recently, he has been performing with leading ensembles such as the Orquestra Sinfónica da Casa da Música, Orquestra de Jazz de Matosinhos, and the Orquestra do Norte. He is also a member of the João Rocha Quartet, the winner of the Aveiro International Jazz Competition in 2024, with which he debuted at the famous Guimarães Jazz Festival. There, he had the opportunity to collaborate with renowned musicians such as Jacob Sacks and Tommaso Perazzo. With this group, he has performed at various other jazz festivals in Portugal.
He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in jazz piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where he studies with the renowned pianist and composer Harmen Fraanje, who frequently makes recordings for the famous ECM label. He has also taken masterclasses with famous artists such as Brad Mehldau, Aaron Parks, Gerald Clayton, and Jorge Rossy.
Maria Nascimento was born in Leiria, Portugal, in 2006. At the age of six, she began music lessons at the Orfeão de Leiria Music School (EMOL), where she studied flute and jazz vocals. She has sung in various choirs, such as the Ninfas do Lis. Between 2020 and 2021, she studied Jazz Vocals with Rita Maria. For several years, she was the vocalist of the EMOL Big Band.
In 2024, she completed the Jazz Instrumentalist Course at the Coimbra Conservatory (CMC), where she studied Jazz Vocal Performance. She participated in the “Festa do Jazz” competition in Lisbon in 2024 and received the awards for “Best Combo” and “Instrumentalist”.
She has attended various workshops and masterclasses, including the masterclass with Kurt Elling, Michael Mayo, Brad Mehldau, and Shai Maestro. Since September 2024, she has been pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Vocal Performance at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA).
She is a vocalist with the Brazilian music group Partido do Samba in Amsterdam.
