Bio
Maria-Eduarda Mendes Martins is a composer living in Toronto, ON.
Ultimately, Maria-Eduarda’s music aims to reflect the multidimensionality of her world and culture, where so much can happen simultaneously. Her pieces question what is complex and what is simple, what is old and what is new. While composing, Maria-Eduarda feels as though she can shape time – as a sculptor shapes clay.
Born and raised between Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre (Brazil), Maria-Eduarda did not have access to musical education until her adolescence, when she discovered an ability to create medieval-sounding melodies. Since then, she completed a bachelor’s degree in music composition at UFRGS (with Celso Loureiro Chaves), a master’s degree at University of Victoria (with Dániel Péter Biró and Christopher Butterfield), and she is currently pursuing a doctorate degree at University of Toronto, having composer Gary Kulesha as her supervisor. Maria-Eduarda’s involvement with the national music scene led her to stay in Canada, becoming a citizen of the country in 2023.
Her music is featured in summer festivals/events such as the Gaudeamus Muziekweek (Netherlands) and Académie Francis Poulenc (France), and she has received honours such as the Friends of Canadian Music Award. Maria-Eduarda has collaborated with conductors such as Gemma New, Cosette Justo Valdés, and Eckhart Preu, with orchestras such as the Brno Philharmonic (CZ), Hamilton Philharmonic (CA), and the Victoria Symphony (CA), ensembles and curators such as Soundstreams and Allegra Chamber Orchestra, in cities across North America, South America, and Europe.
List of Works
Orchestral & Large Ensemble Pieces
Rehearsal Process (2023), for string orchestra (5 min.)
Music4Life String Orchestra – Kathryn Knowles, conductor
Invisible Walls (2023), a double concerto for oboe, bassoon and chamber orchestra (12 min.)
Artemis Musicians’ Society
Dark Light (2023), for Wind Ensemble (10 min.)
University of Toronto Wind Ensemble – Jeffrey Reynolds, conductor
Echoing Mendelssohn (2022), for orchestra (7 min.)
Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra – Gemma New, conductor
Vortex Cantabilis (2020), for orchestra (7 min.)
Brno Philharmonic Orchestra – Robert Kružík, conductor
Palästinalied: Álrêst Lébe (2016), for 4 singers and 12 instruments (5 min.)
Orkest de Ereprijs
Musicianship Melody (2015), for orchestra (5 min.)
University of Victoria Orchestra
Chamber Ensemble Pieces
Clockwork Recipe (2025), for vibraphone and marimba (10 min.)
KöNG Duo
Ripples in Time (2024), for keyboard ensemble (8 min.)
Soundstreams
Recording:
String Theory (2023), for string quartet (15 min.)
Quatuor Bozzini
Diversity in Unity (2023), for violin and flute (2 min.)
Sonority Sisters
The Circular Nature of Time (2022), for Pierrot Ensemble (7 min.)
Thin Edge New Music Collective
Self (2022), for mixed ensemble (10 min.)
Tsilumos Ensemble
Lugar de Fala, Locus of Speech (2021), for oboe and bassoon (2 min.)
Artemis Musicians’ Society
Reflections on Ave Generosa (2021), for chamber orchestra (12 min.)
Allegra Chamber Orchestra
Stella Splendens (2016), for pierrot ensemble (5 min.)
Victoria Composers Collective
Shepard (2015); for string quartet (5 min.)
Quatuor Bozzini
Choir & Vocal Ensemble Music
Clair de lune intellectuel (2024), for soprano and piano (5 min.)
Puisqu’ici-bas toute âme (2024), for mezzo-soprano and piano (5 min.)
Seul (2024), for soprano/tenor and piano (5 min.)
Disobedience (2023), for chamber opera (15 min.)
UofT Opera Student Composer Collective
A Fragment of Eternity (2022), for a cappella choir (9 min.)
ProCoro Canada
Vida (2016), for solo voice (55 min.)
Mass to St. Barnabas (2016), for choir and organ (11 min.)
Mass to St. Barnabas Choir
Yarn Mundi (2015), for 7 singers (10 min.)
Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
Solo Pieces
Movement of Fate (2024), for solo gong/tam-tam (9 min.)
Bevis Ng
Douce Dame Jolie (2017), for piano, spoken voice and electronics (11 min.)
Luciane Cardassi
Wandering Somewhere (2015), for bass flute (8 min.)
Mark McGregor
Solo Electroacoustic Pieces
The Electroacoustic Mass (2011), for pre-recorded media