Biography
Gil Ferreira is a musician, classical guitar teacher, cultural manager and local policy maker, son of emigrant parents, born in 1981 in Venezuela.
He began his artistic studies in 1997 at Santa Maria da Feira Music Academy where he finished his 8th grade in classical guitar. Between 1998 and 2004 he attended Oporto Jazz School.
After this period, he obtained a degree in Music from the University of Aveiro, in Guitar /Performance, where he studied under the guidance of maestros such as Paulo Vaz de Carvalho, Pedro Rodrigues and António Chagas Rosa. From the same institution, in 2012, he concluded a master’s degree in Musical Education. The subject of research being vocational and artistic teaching at a distance, entitled “The initiation to the guitar through video calls”.
Simultaneously, he attended several masterclasses and improvement courses with maestros such as Alberto Ponce, Roberto Aussel, Jozef Zsapka, Dejan Ivanovic, Pedro Rodrigues, Paulo Amorim, Paula Marques, Tim Steiner and Sam Manson (repertoire approaches).
He attended, at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, a degree in Philosophy. As a teacher, in the field of performance arts education, at Vilar do Paraíso Music Academy, he guided, until 2013, a class of award-winning students in both national and international Guitar Competitions.
He was the founder and artistic director of Terra de Santa Maria Guitar Festival (2008 and 2011 editions), which was attended by artists of national and international importance such as Marcin Dylla, Pedro Rodrigues, António Chainho, Fernando Alvim, Paulo Vaz de Carvalho and Augusto Pacheco.
He has been involved in cultural volunteering projects since the age of 13, having been an associative leader between 2007 and 2013 at Orfeão da Feira Culture and Recreation Centre, a period in which projects under his direction stand out, such as the Oficina d’Artes, Ciclo de Jazz do Orfeão da Feira (2007 to 2012) and the centenary programme of the institution.
Since 2013, he has been a City Councillor for Culture, Tourism, Libraries and Museums for the County of Santa Maria da Feira.
He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Medieval Journey in the Land of Santa Maria and the executive director of Imaginarius – International Festival of Street Theatre and Creation Centre.
Member of the thematic groups of Culture and Tourism in the Eixo Atlântico Euroregion, a member of the Board of Town Councillors – for Culture and Tourism – in the Metropolitan Area of Porto.
Member of the Board of Founders of the Serralves Foundation.
Chairman of the General Assembly of the municipal company Feira-Viva Culture and Sport E.M. and chairman of the General Assembly of the Tourism Society of Santa Maria da Feira S.A.
He was considered the “Personality of the year for Events in 2016 ” at the 9th Events Gala, in Lisbon.