Luís Neto da Costa is a Portuguese composer dedicated to broadening instrumental vocabulary and developing techniques based on the harmonic series. His music ranges from delicately textured, lyrical works with a classical sensibility, such as Rust for piano, to the saturated, noisy, punk-influenced Punge. He occasionally incorporates electronics into his compositions, with recent projects also involving video scores.
His compositions have been performed by ensembles and orchestras including Vertixe Sonora, Ensemble Suono Giallo, Ensemble Recherche, Aleph Guitar Quartet, Sond’Ar-te Electric Ensemble, Remix Ensemble, Porto Symphony Orchestra, Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, and ars ad hoc, among others. He has received commissions from Casa da Música, where he was a resident artist, Projeto DME, MISO Music, Festival delle Nazioni, Arte no Tempo, Portuguese Society of Composers, and Antena 2. He has collaborated with musicians including Dejana Sekulić, Alex Waite, and Henrique Portovedo to explore extended techniques, particularly in solo works.
He has received nine composition awards, including the Francisco de Lacerda Composer Prize by Millennium bcp Foundation.
He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, where he focuses on techniques involving the harmonic series as well as computer-aided composition tools.
He completed a degree in Composition at ESMAE (Porto), a Master’s in Music Teaching at the University of Aveiro, and a postgraduate degree in Composition at ESML (Lisbon). He participated in masterclasses such as OutHear New Music Week with Klangforum Wien, IlSUONO Contemporary Music Week, and CROMA, working with composers including Dimitri Papageorgiou, Franck Bedrossian, and Luis Naón.
As a conductor, Neto da Costa worked with ensembles such as the Prespensis New Music Academy in Greece, the Remix Ensemble (international masterclass with Peter Rundel), and the ESMAE Contemporary Music Ensemble. In recent years, he taught Analysis and Composition and pursued research in music analysis.
Awards
- Winning work of the Prize Composer Francisco de Lacerda / Millenium bcp Foundation
- Winner of the Category B of the International Composition Prize “Pedro de Araújo” 2022
- Portuguese Winner of the Ibermúsicas Prize for Composition and Premiere of a Work
- 2nd Prize of the 5th Edition of the Folefest Composition Competition
- Winner of the category B of the International Composition Award for the Six Historic Organs of the Palace of Mafra
- Audience Award in the Joint Competition for flutists and composers of the conference “Flute: Hands on Research 2018” at the University of Aveiro, Portugal
- 2nd Prize of the Composition Competition for Youth Wind Orchestra Municipality of Lousada
- Honorable Mention in the Casa da Música / ESMAE Composition Award on World Music Day
- Honorable Mention of the 4th Edition of the SPA / Antena 2 Composition Contest
Updated: 19/12/2025
Luís Neto da Costa 