Manuel Campos

Manuel Campos (1971) is one of the leading percussionists in Portugal. Since 1994, he has been a professor and the coordinator of the Percussion Department at the Escola Superior de Música e Artes do Espetáculo in Porto.

He began his musical training at the age of 11 at the Escola de Música da Sociedade Filarmónica Vestiariense Monsenhor José Cacella and at the Escola Profissional de Música de Espinho. Due to his outstanding artistic and academic achievements, he received a scholarship from the Gulbenkian Foundation to study at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg in Germany, under the guidance of Siegfried Fink and Mark Lutz. He later completed his studies at CODARTS (Rotterdam Conservatory, Netherlands), under Robert van Sice and Miquel Bernat.

Currently, Manuel Campos divides his time between teaching and an active career as a performer. He is a co-founder of the renowned Drumming – Percussion Group and has been the solo percussionist of the Remix Ensemble Casa da Música since its inception in 2000. The Remix Ensemble has become one of the leading ensembles in contemporary European and global music, regularly performing in the major concert halls in Portugal and abroad. As part of this ensemble, he has performed in Valencia, Rotterdam, Huddersfield, Barcelona, Strasbourg, Paris, Orléans, Bourges, Reims, Antwerp, Madrid, Budapest, Norrköping, Berlin, Milan, Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and Vienna.

As a freelance percussionist, he has worked on various solo, orchestral, and chamber music projects. He has collaborated with many of the most prestigious musical institutions in Portugal, including the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the Porto National Orchestra, and the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, as well as with JONDE (National Youth Orchestra of Spain).

He has conducted and led masterclasses and advanced courses for percussionists and has been part of juries for music competitions.

2025