LUIS PINE, born Luis Manuel Henriques Pinheiro, was born in Lisbon on 1 December, 1957, and attended the Lisbon Conservatory of Music. Before leaving Portugal at the age of 24, Pine engaged in a variety of musical experiences, ranging from contemporary to jazz to folk and pop, in both composition and improvisation. In the United States,Pine continued to cultivate his musical interests, no longer as a performer, but as a self-motivated student of composition.In Pine’s words: “Composing always came naturally, but it took me a long time to accept that this wasn’t common and thatI needed to value it and work with it. I always kept close to heart an early compliment I received from my teacher for a harmonization I provided of a melody he dictated, as well as the admiration and encouragement of working peers I have received over the years.

As a life-long learner, I continue to study master works and contemporary pieces that catch my attention, as well as my own work, as the fluidity of the creative process causes one to discover new approaches and new ideas.I love classical music because of its precision, organic transparency and well-founded alphabet. This alphabet, put in place during the Classical period with the advent of the twelve-tone equal temperament, enabled us to reach a standardized westernmusical language.

When we consider the immense fabric of people, ideas and places that form the musical knowledge and experience compounded since ancient times, we cannot but value classical music’s rich heritage as a refined language for composers, instrumentalists–who bring the music to life—and society.

As Downing Thomas in his Music and the Origins of Language so well concludes: ‘Both a sensible force [referencing the five senses] and a (virtual) representation, music activates the mechanism of inter-subjective community, which, at the origin of language, heralded the initial moments of society and culture.’

If I demonstrate that classical music written today can be as relevant as any other genre inits ability to explore and express both present day ideas, as well as timeless ones, through an infinite amount of stories, I have accomplished something of value.”