In 2023 Constança has her debut with Gulbenkian Orchestra, Orquestra do Norte, Orquestra do Algarve and Orquestra sem Fronteiras. This season she will conduct the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYO) and NYO Inspire, in the Spring and Summer residencies. Constança is the conductor and coordinator of the Zohra Orchestra for 2023/2024, where she is also responsible for mentoring young Afghan women in orchestral conducting.
In the last season Constança guest conducted the Southbank Sinfonia, Orquestra Clássica do Centro and was assistant conductor for several performances with BBC National Orchestral of Wales; Welsh National Opera; Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa and Orquestra sem Fronteiras. In Teatro Tivoli (Porto), she was musical director for Lugar Comum, an opera composed by Sofia Sousa Rocha and premiered by Quarteto Contratempus in November 2022.
She conducts the Royal Northern Sinfonia sporadically, as part of the WoCo Gateshead 2022-24 programme and is also a mentee of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. She was part of the Young Women Opera Makers residency of the Académie du Festival Aix-en-Provence and a fellow of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra programme in Atlanta. Constança also premiered work by Portuguese composers and devised shows to reach wider audiences. As part of this mission, she conducted concerts of the project Pocket Orchestra Marathon with Orquestra sem Fronteiras, that takes classical music to regions of Portugal with scarce access to cultural events.
Péter Eötvös conducting masterclass, June 2022
Constança has recently graduated with Distinction from the MMus in Orchestral Conducting at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, in the class of Prof.David Jones. Previously, she completed an Orchestral Conducting Bachelor in the National Academy of Advanced Orchestral Studies in Lisbon, mentored by Prof.Jean-Marc Burfin. She won several awards for her Masters, both from college and Gulbenkian Foundation in Portugal.
During her academic years she conducted orchestras such as the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, the Ealing Symphony Orchestra and choir, the Northampton Symphony Orchestra and the North Staffordshire Symphony Orchestra. She was mentored by renowned musicians such as Péter Eötvös, Carlo Rizzi, Ryan Bancroft, Magnus Lindberg, Elena Schwarz, Jean-Sebastien Beréau, Scott Sandmeier, Emilio Pomarico, Robert Delcroix and Michalis Economou.
What first amazed me about conducting were the infinite possibilities of interpretation and understanding of orchestral music. As I’m growing I notice that my love for music has a lot more to do with the empathy and vulnerability of getting an orchestra together to achieve a cohesive vision, creating music that is vibrant and alive.