ARTISTS 2023

Percussion professor at UFMG, he graduated from the Instituto de Artes da UNESP, with a Master's degree from UFMG and a PhD from McGill University (Canada) and a post-doctorate focusing on the creation and performance of mixed electronic works. In his academic life, he carries out and guides artistic research in the area of ​​musical performance. Throughout his career, Fernando has been especially dedicated to the performance of contemporary music, participating, as a soloist or member of a chamber group, in numerous international festivals, both in Brazil and abroad (USA, Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Germany, France and Portugal). As a performer, he premiered more than 50 works, collaborating with composers such as Douglas Boyce, Lewis Nielson (USA), Almeida Prado, Silvio Ferraz, Roberto Victorio, Sérgio Freire, Maurício Dottori, Alexandre Lunsqui (Brazil), Nicolas Gilbert, Brian Cherney, D Andrew Stewart, Geof Holbrook (Canada), João Pedro Oliveira (Portugal) and Daniel Blinkhorn (Australia). 

He has performed at the most important music festivals in Brazil and also in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, USA, Portugal, France, Germany and Canada. His ongoing work in chamber music includes his participation in the group Oficina Música Viva, the Duo Qattus (with cellist Elise Pittenger), the CKS (Contemporary Keyboard Society) and the group Tectum (percussion and electronics). He is also the director of the Sonante 21 group (linked to the UFMG Graduate Program) and founder of the UFMG Percussion Group, which released its second CD in 2019, celebrating 20 years of existence. Fernando Rocha has also been dedicated to organizing music events, having organized two editions of the FIM (Belo Horizonte International Music Festival) and curated four editions of the Inhotim Contemporary Music Cycle. He is currently director of the UFMG Conservatory cultural space. Fernando Rocha is a Sabian endorser.

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