Carlos Lopes (1995) is a Portuguese composer, conductor and pianist, particularly interested in collaborative projects with ensembles of instrumental or vocal music, as well as electroacoustics, improvisation and exploration of new performance formats. In 2021, he was Young Composer in Residence at Casa da Música, where the Porto Symphony Orchestra and the Remix Ensemble premiered his works. In 2024, he finished a Master’s degree in Composition with Miroslav Srnka at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, where he is currently attending the Master’s degree in Contemporary Music Conducting with Susanne Blumenthal. His previous studies at Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo in Porto, from 2013 to 2020, include a bachelor’s degree in piano in the class of Constantin Sandu and a bachelor’s in composition, under the tutelage of Pedro Santos, Dimitris Andrikopoulos and Carlos Azevedo. In July 2018, his string quartet tragoidia won the 2nd prize at the 11th edition of Póvoa de Varzim’s International Composition Competition. In July 2019, 5 Variações do Desassossego (5 Variations of Disquiet) was premiered by the Gulbenkian Orchestra and baritone Tiago Matos, as part of the “ENOA — Composing for Voices” workshop mentored by Luís Tinoco. In 2020, Clepsydra was commissioned by Antena 2/RTP for Prémio Jovens Músicos, as a mandatory piece for the cello category — superior level. In June 2022, Artefacst for ensemble was awarded a recommendation in the category “Composers Under 30” by the 68th International Rostrum of Composers (ROSTRUM+) in Belgrade. In 2025, he won 1st Prize at the SPA / Antena 2 Composition Prize with his orchestra piece Rasgos de Luz. He also participated in masterclasses, lectures and workshops with Peter Rundel, Helmut Lachenmann, Harrison Birtwistle, Philippe Manoury, Clara Ianotta, Rebecca Saunders, Ensemble Mosaik in collaboration with Luís Antunes Pena, Alexander Schubert, Johannes Schöllhorn, João Pedro Oliveira, Panayiotis Kokoras and Moritz Eggert.