Bárbara Lopes (Braga, 1997) is a Portuguese bassoonist based in Switzerland, currently academist of the Opernhaus Zürich Orchestra and student of the Master’s degree Specialized in Orchestra at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) under the guidance of professor Giorgio Mandolesi.

She is prize winner in bassoon international competitions, including a 2nd prize in “Terras de La Salette” Winds Instruments International Competition (2019) and a 3rd prize in Double Reed Festival Competition (2019).

As an orchestral freelancer musician, she has been very active in the professional world, collaborating with many renowned orchestras, most notably Berner Symphonieorchester (Internship, 2023), Orquestra Filarmónica Portuguesa, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra at the Sion Music Festival, Orquestra Filarmonia das Beiras, Orquestra Clássica de Espinho, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (substitute place, 2022) and Orquestra XXI. Moreover, she has participated in acclaimed classical music festivals and youth orchestras worldwide, notably Pacific Music Festival (Japan, 2022), Höri Musiktage Bodensee (2023), Neue Philharmonie München (2020-2022), Animato Foundation Orchestra (2021), Schweizer Jugend-Sinfonie-Orchester (2022), and Gulbenkian Youth Orchestra (2018). She has also been recently selected for the Orchestre de Paris Academy, taking place in summer 2024.

Bárbara’s versatility extends to her collaboration in multidisciplinary projects, such as “ferro à ferrugem” (from iron to dust), integrating contemporary circus with solo bassoon performances, showcased at prestigious performing arts festivals in Portugal.

Throughout her career, Bárbara has had the opportunity of learning with many of the most renowned bassoonists and pedagogues of the current times such as Dag Jensen, Stefan Schweigert, Matthias Rácz, Marco Postinghel, Carlo Colombo, Axel Benoit, Raffaele Giannotti, Anne Gerstenberger and Urs Dengler. Bárbara began her musical studies at the age of 6, with the bassoon, at the Music Conservatory Calouste Gulbenkian in her home town. She further studied in the University of Aveiro and the Superior School of Music and Performing Arts (ESMAE, Porto), where she completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Artistic Interpretation under the guidance of professors Pedro Silva and José Pedro Figueiredo. In June 2023 she concluded her Master’s in Musical Performance in ZHdK under the guidance of professor Giorgio Mandolesi, achieving the highest grade. She also mastered on the contrabassoon, guided by Hans Agreda. Currently she is also studying baroque bassoon with her current professor at ZHdK.

Bárbara Lopes is a scholarship holder of the Animato Foundation in Switzerland.