Bruno Vicente
Composer | Conductor

Bruno Vicente is a Portuguese composer and conductor, born in Figueira da Foz and currently residing in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He’s currently studying at Codarts Rotterdam, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in orchestral conducting under the guidance of Hans Leenders and Sander Teepen. Before that he also completed a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in composition, at Codarts and ESMAE in Porto, Portugal, respectively. In composition, he has studied with renowned figures such as Hans Koolmees, Wim Hendrickx, Klaas de Vries, Peter-Jan Wagemans, Dimitris Andrikopoulos, Carlos Azevedo, and Pedro Santos, among others. In conducting he had classes with names such as Arie van Beek, Karel Deseure, Baldur Brönnimann, Johan de Meij, Wiecher Mandemaker, Luís Miguel Clemente, Joost Geevers, and Ronald Kieft.

In 2023, he was one of the finalists for the Stipendium prize of the Nederlands Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, having his work “Harmony of the Spheres” performed by this orchestra at the Muziekcentrum van de Omroep in Hilversum, the Netherlands. The same composition also won the 1st prize in the 2nd edition of the ABC...Compositores! competition at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos and was premiered in March 2023 by the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, having also been edited and published by AvA Editions. In the same year, he was commissioned to orchestrate the national anthem of South Africa by the Sinfonia Rotterdam orchestra, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of its principal conductor, Conrad van Alpen. Other notable projects include “Scherzato and Adagio”, commissioned by conductor Daniel Ros Hernández and premiered by the Harmonix Orchestra at the Grote Zaal in De Doelen, Rotterdam, in June 2023; “O Menino da sua Mãe”, commissioned by the Coro Do Círculo Cultural Scalabitano and premiered in Santarém by a 50-member choir during the XXX Encontro de Coros do Ribatejo in June 2023; and music for two radio plays called “A Oito Mãos” by Laura Avelar Ferreira and “Uma Praia ao Sul” by Luísa Ramos Ferreira, both broadcast on Antena 2, Portugal.

In conducting, he has assisted conductors such as Frank de Groot with the Delfts Symphonie Orkest, and Samuel Tamarit Otero with the Flehite Sinfonietta. In January of 2024 he made his debut at the Nationale Opera & Ballet in Amsterdam with the premiere of Massimiliano Vizzini's short opera "Goldilocks in Amsterdam", as part of the Opera Forwards Festival. In June of 2024, he conducts the world premiere of Friso van Wijck’s “Music for quintet” with ensemble OIHUA in Rotterdam. He also regularly collaborates with the Laurens Kooracademie and with the Codarts Symphony Orchestra, having conducted works such as Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Wagner's Tannhäuser Overture, and Anna Clynne's This Midnight Hour.

Bruno is also active as a choral singer, having sung with the Laurenscantorij and Laurens Symfonisch choirs in Rotterdam, where he has performed together with orchestras such as the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest and the Residentie Orkest, and an active member of the Bach Koor Holland, where he sang Bach Matthew's Passion together with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra.