Maria da Rocha (Lisbon, PT) plays violin & viola, researches, teaches, creates mostly in the field of new, experimental & electroacoustic music.
Her music has emerged from an intimate connection to the violin and from the fascination of how analog synthetised noises can resemble those from everyday life: nature, machines and other sounding objects, partly with a life of their own.
Her music has emerged from an intimate connection to the violin and from the fascination of how analog synthetised noises can resemble those from everyday life: nature, machines and other sounding objects, partly with a life of their own.
Photo by Roman Hagenbrock
She played various works solo with orchestra or as tutti and collaborated with ensembles in new music and dance-theatre festivals in Portugal, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, United Kingdom and Poland.
Her multimedia compositions emerged in collaboration and have been presented in various festivals, now she teaches violin and is mentor for creative projects within the performing arts. The album Pink: daRocha/Horn emerged in collaboration with Maria W Horn. Beetroot & Other Stories (violin & electronics) was recorded at awarded composer residencies at EMS, Stockholm, mastered in Visby International Composers Centre and edited by Shhpuma label. Her next EP, also composed and recorded at EMS, will be released by label Holuzam.
She studied in Lisbon (Esml), Aveiro (UA), Berlin (UdK) and is finishing her PhD in Musical Arts (FCSH, Lisbon and SARC/QUB, UK).