Since a young age I have been fascinated by music and the power it holds on me. It is an art form that encompasses the whole and transcends all. Born on a small island in the Mid-Atlantic (Azores), my ancestry consists of simple farmers and fishermen.

As a young child, I sang and acted in various church and school performances. I had my first piano and viola lessons in my early teens, and completed 6 years of Conservatory in Ponta Delgada, where I switched to viola, my main instrument. In 1995, I commenced my post secondary education in Alberta and graduated with a Masters in Musicology in 2004, writing and presenting my thesis on the work “Flores de Musica for Organ 1620” and the life of Manuel Rodrigues Coelho.

I am also a Junior High teacher in Calgary. My hobbies are reading, hiking, travel and gardening, as well as being passionate about arranging and composing in my spare time. I also run and maintain my music website: partitura21edition.ca which sells music from older and unknown editions and composers.

— Duarte Silva, Musical Director