Collection: Costa, André Pires

André Pires Costa is a Portuguese guitarist, singer, composer, and singer-songwriter known for his versatility in various musical styles. He was born in 1992 in Fão and studied classical guitar with Jorge Casimiro Silva.

He has attended internships, workshops, and technical and interpretive improvement courses with renowned musicians such as Leo Brouwer, Mak Grgic, Dejan Ivanovic, Barry Harris, and Jonathan Kreisberg. Additionally, he has studied Latin and African popular music with Sandro Pimentel Barros and orchestration with Rúben Henriques.

André began his degree in Classical Guitar at the University of Minho and completed it at the National Academy of Music "Pantcho Vladigerov" in Sofia, Bulgaria, as part of the Erasmus program. In 2016, he obtained his Master's degree in Music Education from the University of Minho.

Since 2016, André has been involved in several musical formations, including the Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa (playing banjo, guitar, and electric guitar) and the Orquestra Filarmónica Portuguesa (playing guitar and electric guitar), working with conductors such as Douglas Bostock, Leo Brouwer, Francisco Ferreira, Osvaldo Ferreira, Rúben Henriques, and Patrick Monteiro.

Since 2018, André, along with Mariana Melo, has been one of the founding members of the group "La Vie en Swing," a project dedicated to French music, featuring typical themes from "chanson" and the classic swing that emerged in the 1920s.

In 2020, he founded the band Garajau with Tiago Luz, and they released their first album entitled "O Amor não se abrevia" in April 2023. André has also composed works and arrangements for various instruments and ensembles, which have been published by Bergmann Edition, AVA Editions, Sheet Music Plus Press, and Mysheetmusic.

Currently, André teaches at the Escola de Artes da Vila and at the Academia de Música de Costa Cabral.