about
Giovanni Porfirio (he/him) is a Brazilian artist whose work explores creating through acoustic instruments and electroacoustic music. He uses timber, layering, microtonality, extended techniques, temporality, and spatiality to shape his pieces, while also exploring themes related to history, philosophy, politics, and the human experience. Additionally, Giovanni developed and applies his own compositional terms, including photo-time signature and atomic harmony, to his work.
He had composed for many ensembles worldwide, including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (USA), Mizzou Symphony Orchestra (USA), Kaizen Piano Trio (USA), Spaceship Ensemble (Netherlands), Trio Girassol (Brazil), and the Orquestra do Theatro São Pedro (Brazil).
Giovanni has attended and had his pieces played in music festivals throughout Brazil, such as the Oficina de Música de Curitiba (2019), the Londrina International Festival (2019), the São Paulo Contemporary Composers Festival (2019), FIMUCA (2020), and the International Biennial for Electroacoustic Music of São Paulo (2022 and 2024). Internationally, his pieces were performed at the Gaudeamus Festival (2022, Netherlands), Écoles d'Art Américaines de Fontainebleau (2024, France), the St. Petersburg International New Music Festival (2025, Russia), and the Darmstadt Summer Course (2025, Germany).
His work has been recognized by institutions globally, and he received the Sinquefield Composition Prize (2025, USA), Prix de Ravel—Prix du Jury (2024, France), Percussão Brasileira: solo instrument category (2022, Brazil), and Mizzou Professional Development Travel Awards (2025, USA).
As a researcher, Giovanni analyzes music from the 20th Century, including acousmatic, orchestral, and ecomusicological pieces. His paper on “Sinfonia Apocalipse,” by Paiva Netto and Almeida Prado, explores contemporary Brazilian repertoire and 20th-century orchestral techniques. Another paper examines temporality in the string quartet “Grido" by Lachmann. Giovanni is currently working on the analysis of “Screaming Trees”, an acousmatic piece by Alex Buck. https://www.periodicos.ia.unesp.br/index.php/musicaemfoco/article/view/552
Giovanni holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Composition with an emphasis in Electroacoustic Music from the PANaroma Studio at the São Paulo State University (Brazil), where he studied with Alexandre Lunsqui and Flo Menezes, and a Master's degree in Music Composition at the University of Missouri-Columbia (USA), under the guidance of Stefan Freund and Utku Asuroglu. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Barenboim-Said Akademie (Berlin, Germany) where he is mentored by Jörg Widmann.