The pianist Manuela Costa (teacher at Conservatory of Music of Porto)

Born in 1964 in Oliveira de Azeméis (Portugal), Manuela Costa studied at the Oporto Music Conservatory and concluded the Piano course under Professor Fausto Neves. She went on to study at the ESMAE (Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espectáculo) as a student of Professor Pedro Burmester and post graduated later on, in the same Superior Institute, under Professor Madalena Soveral. During her studies Manuela Costa was mentored by renowned artitsts such as, Helena Sá e Costa, Sequeira Costa, Nicole Henriot, Tânia Achot, Vitalij Margulis, Carlos Cebro, Cecílio Tieles Ferrer, Jorge Moyano, Dimitri Paperno, Marie Françoise-Bucquet, Vitaly Dotsenko and Maurice Gendron (chamber music). Alongside a mainly chamber music performing career, Manuela Costa has rapidly established herself as a dedicated pedagogue, and was engaged as Piano teacher at the Oporto Music Conservatory after public audition in 1991. Her particular enthusiasm and endeavour in coaching young players all along their musical studies led her to write a two volume essay, in portuguese language, on a right approach of the basic fundaments of piano playing, dedicated to teachers, students and all piano true amateurs (AVA Editions), and to develop a game as an educational platform with the aid of ActivInspire program, dedicated to all beginner students.