Luís Toscano

After an early training as chorister in the Coro dos Pequenos Cantores de Coimbra (Portugal), Luís continued his musical studies at Coimbra Conservatory, while also achieving a Licenciate Diploma in Economy from the University of Coimbra. He subsequently obtained a Grant from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia to research, edit and perform Portuguese music from the 16th and 17th centuries. He holds a Master's degree in Music from the University of Aveiro and continues his research as a doctoral candidate in Artistic Studies | Musical Studies and collaborator of the Centro de Estudos Clássicos e Humanísticos at the University of Coimbra.

Critically acclaimed as "a major exponent of Portuguese Renaissance Polyphony" and "a musician of refined instinct", Luís Toscano has an intense activity as a director and singer, particularly in pre-Classical and Contemporary repertoires. He was the Music Director and a member of the vocal group Cupertinos, with which he recorded five albums for the Hyperion label. These recordings are regularly featured on major classical radio stations worldwide and have earned acclaim from the specialized press. They achieved, among other distinctions, the Gramophone Music Award (winner in 2019 and finalist in 2023) and the PLAY – Prémios da Música Portuguesa (winner in 2021 and finalist in 2020 and 2023), and were included in the Bestenliste of Deutsche Schallplattenkritik (2019), the Notable Performances and Recordings of The New Yorker (2022), and I 15 migliori dischi di Classica of Giornale della Musica (2022).

Under his leadership, Cupertinos participated in several of the most relevant European festivals – such as Bolzano Festival Bozen, Choral at Cadogan, Tage Alter Musik Regensburg, Laus Polyphoniae Antwerpen, and Festival de Música Antigua de Úbeda y Baeza.

Currently based in Denmark, Luís Toscano has been a member of Ars Nova Copenhagen since 2012. He is also a co-founder of the vocal ensemble Quarto Tom and the group La Farsa, and a member of the Fado Group Aeminium and Capela Gregoriana Psalterium. He was a founding member of Coro Casa da Música and regularly collaborates with other prominent ensembles in Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, such as The Brabant Ensemble, Theatre of Voices, Ludovice Ensemble, Contrapunctus, Musica Ficta, Vocal Ensemble, Los Afectos Diversos, Musurgia Ensemble, and Chamber Choir Ireland.