Rui Massena

Rui Massena was introduced to music at a very young age. He played
the first piano piece at the age of five, was eight when he created his
first composition, and has been working as a conductor since the age
of 27. That was about the time Rui took up the Artistic Direction and the
role of Principal Conductor in Madeira’s Classical Orchestra, a position
he kept for 12 years.
Between 2001 and 2013, Massena premiered dozens of works and
conducted over 30 national and international notorious orchestras in
world-renowned concert halls in 14 countries. In 2010, the ‘European
Capital of Culture – Guimarães 2012’ chose Massena to program the
Music Cluster of the project, a body of work that he began developing in
2010 and through which he founded the Orchestra ‘Fundação Orquestra Estúdio’. Massena has also conducted, written and arranged in
symphonic language for countless artists. Music was always the centerpiece of Rui Massena’s life.
After thirteen years of non-stop weekly conducting, Massena made
the decision to finally give space to his old composing dream.
Since 2015, he started a solo career with his own compositions as
a Universal Music Artist, and launched four albums and an EP until
April 2021. His music is enjoyed by fans from over 90 countries and
Rui Massena has been selected as a contemporary global talent by the
prestigious publisher ‘Deutsche Grammophon’.
In 2019, Massena made his debut in film scoring in the short film “Carnaval Sujo”, directed by José Miguel Moreira, and composed and performed the soundtrack for two TV Films (2021), “Esperança” directed
by Cláudia Clemente and “Medo” directed by Patríca Sequeira, included in the film trilogy “Na Porta ao Lado”, focusing on the scourge of
domestic violence.
In 2021, was awarded the Gold Medal of Cultural and Scientific
Merit, from the city of Porto, in recognition of his continued contribution to the city. This medal joins many others Rui has been awarded
throughout his career, including the Gold Medal of Cultural and Scientific Merit from his hometown, as well as the Medal of Cultural Merit of
Brazil’s Academy of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Rui Massena’s music is today alongside great composers such as
Philip Glass and Ludovico Einaudi, with one of their compositions,
Valsa is part of the compilation ‘EXPO 1’ by Deutsche Grammophon,
which features music by leading composers ‘Neo-Classics’ nowadays. In 2021, invited by the publisher, alongside Maria João Pires and
15 other world-class performers and composers, participated in the
World Piano Day 21 festival, broadcasted all around the world.
Today, Rui works as a conductor, composer, producer and performer,
based in his studio, near Granja’s beach, in the creative city of Porto.
He plays and conduct his music live in concert halls all around the
world