Percussionist, orchestral conductor, composer

Pedro Carneiro

A Portuguese solo classical percussionist, marimba player and composer, Pedro Carneiro has been winning over audiences all over Europe, the US, Asia and Australia. He started taking piano, cello and trumpet lessons at age 5. He moved to London on a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation, and studied percussion and conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, earning a Head of Department award. He later studied conducting under Emílio Pomàrico at the Academia Internazionale della Musica, in Milan. Acclaimed as one of the world’s foremost percussionists, he frequently joins some of the most celebrated international orchestras as a guest soloist. He is featured on award-winning records, particularly his Iannis Xenakis monograph, which is lauded as a reference by the international press. He often composes music for plays, dance shows and film. He is the co-founder, artistic director and chief conductor of the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra, which he conducted in the City of London festival, in 2010. He would be awarded the Gulbenkian Art Prize 2011 the following year.