Vasco Silva de Faria (born October 18th 1978, in Guimarães) is a Trumpet player, Teacher, Conductor, and Artistic Director.
He was awarded the Doctor Degree of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Music Performance at the University of Évora, the Master Degree in Music Education from the University of Minho (Distinction) and the Master Degree in Music Teaching at Portuguese Catholic University. Prior study includes Graduation in Instrument – Trumpet, at ESMAE, as a student of Kevin Wauldron, Stephen Mason (Lisbon) and Pierre Dutot (Bordeaux, France) and additional advanced trumpet studies with Maurice Andre (Zurich, Switzerland), Eric Aubier and Stephen Mason (Lisbon), Hakan Hardenberg and John Aigi Hurn (Porto), and Vincent Penzarella, Adolph Herseth, Konradin Groth, in NewYork.
The research produced focuses on themes such as: “The Teaching of the Trumpet in Portugal: A pedagogical conception for the Introduction to the Instrument” (2009), “Repertoire for Trumpet in Portugal from 1980 to 2010: Three Case Studies” (2018) and “ The importance of using the trumpet visualizer in the Trumpet teaching-‐learning process” (2020).
Vasco Silva de Faria began his musical studies in 1988 with is father, Sidónio de Faria and Manuel Silva, having joined the Musical Society of Pevidém and the Coelima Choir the following year under the baton of the conductor Francisco Ribeiro.
He served as trumpet player at the Artave Symphony Orchestra, Artave Wind Orchestra, ESMAE’s Sinfonietta Orchestra, National Wind Orchestra of the Templars, Beiras Philharmonic Orchestra, Musicare Orchestra, Oporto’s Academic Orchestra, Oporto National Orchestra, Remix Baroque Orchestra and Portuguese Symphonic Orchestra with conductors such as Andris Nelsons, António Saiote, Cesário Costa, Christopher König, Christophe Millet, Emilio Pommarico, Ernst Schelle, Hans Martin Rabbeinstein, Joana Carneiro, José Luís Borges Coelho, Marc Tardue, Martin André, Omri Hadari, Vítor Matos. Since 2007, he is the 1st Trumpet in the Orchestra of the University of Minho.
He was awarded several scholarships by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation from 1995 to 2000, a merit Diplom by Martins Sarmento Society (1989), as well as Portuguese Radio-‐ Television (RDP) Young Musicians Award both as Soloist (1999) and Chamber Music (1994) categories, he was awarded the Best Conductor Award at the XVI International Wind Band Competition in Aranda de Duero, Spain (2015) and Praise Vote of the City Council of Guimarães and Selho São Jorge (Pevidém). As a conductor and with the Wind Band of Pevidém he won the 1st prize at the XVI International Wind Band Competition in Aranda de Duero (2015), he won the 3rd prize in the XII Galician Band Certamen (2018) and the 2nd prize in the 46th Villa de Altea International Band Competition(2019).
He is a member of the International Trumpet Guild.
Teaching experience includes master classes in Portugal, Poland and Germany as well as permanent teaching positions at Paredes Academy of Music, ARTAVE, ERTEAM, EPME, ESMAE and Aveiro University.
As a soloist, Vasco Silva de Faria performed widely, namely, in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Poland and in 2015, he as made the world premiere of the work dedicated to him, "Concert for Trumpet and Strings" by the Portuguese composer Sérgio Azevedo.
He is invited as jury at the National Trumpet Competition of Póvoa de Varzim since 2011.
He studied Choral and Orchestral conducting with Gunther Arglebe and José Luís Borges Coelho. As a conductor, he leaded internationally renowned soloists as well has more then seventy edited CD’s and DVD’s both as soloist and as Musical Director/Artistic Director.
As Artistic Manager and Director, he serves as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Wind Band of Pevidém since 2007, the Youth Orchestra of Pevidém wich he founded in 1999 and the Coelima Choir between 1997 and 2021. He is the Artistic and Musical Director of Masterclass & Orchestral Summer Academy of Guia since 2022. He founded the Brass Ensemble of Guimarães and the Guimarães Trumpet Ensemble, both in 2000.
Vasco Silva de Faria currently teaches and heads the brass departments at Guimarães Conservatory and at the University of Minho (Invited Senior Lecturer). He is the Pedagogical Director of the Music Academy Commendator Albano Abreu Coelho Lima, in Pevidém, since its foundation in 2016.
Vasco Silva de Faria is a Vincent Bach artist and plays on Bach Artisan and Centennial trumpets (https://centerstage.conn-‐selmer.com/artists/vasco-‐faria).
In 2022, he was awarded with the Gold Medal of Artistic Merit of the City of Guimarães, by the City Council of Guimarães.