About

Matilde Neves (b. 2 November 2001, Lisbon) is a Portuguese soprano, harpsichordist, and songwriter whose work bridges classical performance and contemporary songwriting. She studied harpsichord and classical singing at Lisbon’s National Conservatoire from 2010 to 2020, developing a strong foundation in early music, ensemble collaboration, and vocal performance.

As a young performer, Matilde appeared as the Sparrow in the children’s opera Brundibár at Lisbon’s São Carlos Theatre in 2014. She later performed as one of the sixteen heroes in Jonathan Dove’s The Monster in the Maze, presented at the Gulbenkian Foundation in 2017. These early experiences fostered her confidence as a soloist and sparked her interest in storytelling through music.

Alongside opera, Matilde was deeply engaged in choral singing. From 2013 to 2016, she was a member of the choir Little Singers, performing from memory with choreography in venues including Camões Theatre, the Carmo Ruins, and the Sanctuary of Fátima. She later joined CIUL (Youth Choir of the University of Lisbon), under the direction of Erica Mandillo and vocal coach Joana Nascimento. With CIUL, she toured internationally, performing in Turin (2017) and participating in the Europäisches Jugendchorfestival in Basel (2018). In Portugal, she sang in major venues such as Casa da Música in Porto, the Gulbenkian Foundation, and the Centro Cultural de Belém.

From 2016 to 2019, Matilde was also a member of the school choir Mosaic, directed by Tiago Marques. Known for its rigorous standards and stylistic diversity, the ensemble performed repertoire ranging from J.S. Bach’s St John Passion to contemporary a cappella and Brazilian music. With Mosaic, she contributed to award-winning festival appearances, including recognition at the Summer Choral Festival in Lisbon and by the International Federation for Choral Music.

Her interest in early music led her to participate in chamber ensembles focused on historically informed performance. As a harpsichordist, she collaborated closely with singers and recorder players, developing a heightened sensitivity to musical dialogue and ensemble awareness. A notable interdisciplinary project, PSIQUE, combined music and contemporary dance in collaboration with her mother, a professional dancer.

In 2020, Matilde moved to London to pursue a Bachelor of Music (Hons) in Performance (Vocal Studies) at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, graduating in 2024. During her undergraduate studies, she performed in opera scenes, chorus concerts, and collaborative projects, presenting repertoire ranging from Arvo Pärt and Florence Price to samba and contemporary vocal works. She also completed electives in Instrumental and Vocal Teaching and in the Alexander Technique, broadening her understanding of pedagogy and embodied performance practice.

In 2024, Matilde began a Master of Arts in Songwriting at ICMP in London, marking an expansion of her artistic practice into contemporary music creation. Her postgraduate studies explored creative process, lyric architecture, music production, and the modern music industry.

Her master’s thesis examined multilingualism in songwriting through a neurolinguistic perspective, investigating how language influences melodic phrasing, emotional resonance, and compositional choices. As part of her research, she composed and produced a ten-song album as practice-based research, reflecting her ongoing interest in the relationship between language, identity, and sound.

Across her career, Matilde has demonstrated versatility as a soprano, collaborative musician, and emerging songwriter. Her artistic path moves fluidly between early music, opera, choral performance, and contemporary songwriting, united by a curiosity about communication through voice. Whether interpreting classical repertoire or crafting original songs, she approaches music as both an expressive art form and a field of research, continually exploring how voice, language, and storytelling intertwine.