Born on 23 July 1944 in Lisbon, Maria João Pires gave her first public performance at the age of 4 and began her studies of music and piano with Campos Coelho and Francine Benoît, continuing later in Germany, with Rosl Schmid and Karl Engel. In addition to her concerts, she has made recordings for Erato for fifteen years and Deutsche Grammophon for twenty years.

Since the 1970s, she has devoted herself to reflecting on the influence of art on life, community and education, trying to discover new ways of establishing this way of thinking in society. She has searched for new ways which, respecting the development of individuals and of cultures, encourage the sharing of ideas.

In 1999, she created the Centre for the Study of the Arts of Belgais in Portugal. She broadened the reach of this philosophy to Salamanca and Bahia in Brazil.

In 2012, in Belgium, she initiated two complementary projects; the Equinox project which creates and develops choirs for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the Partitura project, the aim of which is to create an altruistic dynamic between artists of different generations by proposing an alternative in a world too often focused on competitiveness.

Trevor Pinnock is known worldwide as a harpsichordist and conductor who pioneered performance on historical instruments with ›The English Concert‹, the orchestra which he founded in 1972  nd led for the next thirty years. He now divides his time between conducting, solo, chamber music and educational projects.

Recent conducting highlights include Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest.

Trevor brought Purcell’s ›Dido & Aeneas‹ and Theatre Music to the Wigmore Hall where later in the season 2015/16 he will also perform chamber music by Purcell, Corelli and Handel with Sophie Gent, Matthew Truscott and Jonathan Manson. He will also give solo recitals including music by Johann Jakob Froberger and Louis Couperin.

Recordings to be released this season include a solo recital ›Journey – 200 years of harpsichord music‹ as well as the Mozart ›Gran Partita‹ for winds and a Haydn ›Notturno‹ with the Royal  Academy of Music Soloists Ensemble. Trevor’s work at the Royal Academy of Music also  includes orchestral concerts as Principal Guest Conductor of the Concert Orchestra and opera projects.