Saúl Picado

As a performer I work regularly both as soloist and chamber musician. With my duo, Dryads Duo (with violinist Carla Santos), we have recorded 2 CDs. In 2018 I took part in a CD recording for NAXOS – the chamber music of Pedro Faria Gomes – and in 2019 recorded a CD for piano 4 hands (with pianist Diana Vieira) with music for children by composer Sérgio Azevedo.

Completed my Doctorate Degree in Performance in 2022 at Universidade de Aveiro, where I studied piano with Pedro Burmester. Graduated with distinction in Piano Accompaniment and Chamber Music (2010), studying piano with Alexei Eremine and obtained my Master’s Degree in Performance at Guildhall School of Music & Drama (2012), where I studied with Peter Bithell and Martin Roscoe. Later I was awarded the Gilbert & Eileen Edgar Junior Fellowship in Piano Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music (2014/15). My piano studies began in 1998 at Conservatório Regional de Castelo Branco, my hometown in Portugal, with João Paulo Cunha.

In 2011 I was awarded the 2nd Prize in the “Prémio Jovens Músicos” Competiton (Portugal) – Solo Piano category. At the same year, with the Dryads Duo was awarded the 1st Prize at the same competition ("Prémio Jovens Músicos") - Chamber Music category. Since then, the Dryads Duo have performed in the major concert halls across Portugal, including Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Casa da Música and Centro Cultural de Belém. Based in the UK since 2010, the Duo has been performing regularly namely in Aylesbury, Brighton, Edinburgh, Brighton, Oxford, Cardiff and London. We had the opportunity of performing at the Grand Thêátre Opéra de Bordeaux and at the Landesgalerie in Linz, Austria.

Being passionate about art in general and in contemporary music, in 2019 we created a cycle of concerts intitled “Music Speaks…”, for which 5 composers were invited to compose new pieces for the Dryads Duo.

As a soloist, apart from several other performances, I had the privilege to give the inaugural recital of the Concert Series "Explicação da Ausência" in Castelo Branco, Portugal to give the inaugural recital of the "Piano Cycle EDP 2013 " in Suggia Room at Casa da Música, Oporto, Portugal. I was also invited to play with the Youth Orchestra of the Conservatório Regional de Castelo Branco at their inaugural concert.
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At present I dedicate most of my time teaching the piano at Windsor Piano School, Wellington College and the Abbey School. My goal is to share, inspire and nurture the love for music.