Leonel Quinta, Clarinet

Leonel Matias Quinta was born in Campo Maior, Portugal, in 1993. At the age of eight, he began playing the clarinet, with Catarina Rebelo among his teachers. In 2015 Leonel Quinta completed his studies with Ana Maria Santos at the University of Évora, Portugal. In 2016 he took up studies with François Benda at the Basel Music Academy, receiving his Master Performance Diploma in 2018. Apart from his activities as a solo clarinettist, he received chamber music lessons from Paul Wakabayashi, Anton Kernjal, Sergio Azzolini and Claudio Martinez Meher and performed under the baton of Peter Rundel, Pedro Carneiro, Jean-Sébastien Béreau, Jürg Henneberger and Heinz Holliger. He was a member of the Jovem Orquestra Portuguesa, with which he undertook a tour of Germany under Pedro Carneiro’s baton, in 2014/15, and also joined the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 Leonel Quinta participated in the Remix Ensemble Summer Academy at the Casa da Música in Porto under Peter Rundel’s leadership, and in the International Summer Academy Orchestra under Jean-Sébastien Béreau. In 2016 he was given the opportunity to perform several concerts with Het Vers Ensemble in Utrecht and Groningen in the Netherlands. Leonel Quinta received scholarships from several foundations, including the Doms Foundation, the Rahm Kulturfonds and the Rita Zimmermann Music Foundation. During the 2018/19 season he was a member of the Bern Symphony Orchestra’s academy.