About me

I’m Vera Fonte, a pianist and music teacher with a passion for performance, research, and sharing music with others. My journey with the piano began in Portugal, where I studied at the University of Minho with pianist Luís Pipa, completing my degree in Piano and a Master’s in Music Teaching. In 2020, I earned my PhD at the Royal College of Music in London, focusing my research on musical memorisation and working with  pianists such as Andrew Zolinsky. Recently I have also worked with Robert Durso, a pupil of Dorothy Taubmann. 

Performance Experience

Performing has taken me to countries such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Serbia, England, both as a soloist and in chamber music.  I’ve been a guest at festivals such as the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival, Festival Arcada, Festival Percursos da Música, and Classical Music Fest.

I am passionate about chamber music, and have founded several chamber music groups and have performed with renowned musicians, namely Nancy Zhou and Pieter Wieslpelwey, among others.

Over the years, I’ve received several national and international prizes in piano and chamber music competitions. Some of the most recent include the Platinum Award at the 2023 Nobel-Artist International Music Competition, the Silver Award at the 2023 Northern Lights Piano Festival, and the Career Prize at the 2023 Tiziano Rosetti International Music Competition.

Teaching Experience

Teaching is another important part of my life. I taught at the Royal College of Music between 2015 and 2018 as an Assistant Professor. I have been Guest Professor and Accompanying Pianist at the University of Minho from 2018, and since 2021, Invited Adjunct Professor at the Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas, Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco. From September 2023, I am also Guest Lecturer at the Royal College of Music in a module dedicated to musical memorisation.

Currently, I am Vice-President of EPTA Portugal (European Piano Teachers Association).

Recently I have decided to start my own project as music educator, to explore the teaching ideas and philosophies that I have been developing over the last years.