Awarded in 2018 with the 2nd Prize at the 73rd Geneva Competition, following his 1st Prize at the 2017 Ghent International Competition, at the age of 30 Vitor Fernandes is one of the leading clarinetists of his generation.
Known for his command of the instrument and wide range of repertoire, Vitor has been performing all over the world as a soloist and in chamber music in places such as Paris, London, Berlin, Geneva, Zurich, Venice, Lima, Mexico City, Seoul, Hong-Kong, Tokyo, Taipei, Singapore, Beijing, Dubai, Ljubljana, Sofia, etc.
He has performed as a soloist with the Brussels Philharmonic, Sofia Philharmonic, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Kammerorchester Basel, L’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Gyor Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Symphonic Band of the Belgian Guides, The United Nations Orchestra, Orquestra de Câmara de Cascais e Oeiras, Banda Sinfónica Portuguesa, Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, among others, interpreting concertos ranging from Mozart and Spohr to Tomasi, Nielsen and living composers such as Frank Ticheli.
He has also played as a Guest Principal with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Bergen Philharmonic and Opéra de Lyon.
Passionate about teaching, Vitor has been giving numerous masterclasses at the National Taipei University of Arts, National Taiwan University of Education, Korean National University of Arts, HAMU Prague Academy for Performing Arts, Hochschule fur Musik Detmold, CODARTS Rotterdam, Beijing’s Central Conservatory, SOTA School of the Arts Singapore, and teaching in different festivals across Europe and South-America.
Vitor has recorded for the Portuguese National Radio and Television, Radio Television Suisse, France Musique, Bartók Radio Hungary and National Radio of Slovenia.
In 2018, after finishing his Master’s Diploma at the Haute École de Musique de Genève, he was awarded with the Sih-Woo Cardinaux-Chang prize.