Trumpeter Pedro Freire has Died, Aged 31

The young Portuguese trumpeter had played with the Elbphilharmonie and the Concertgebouw orchestras, among others

Portuguese trumpeter Pedro Freire has sadly passed away at the age of 31.

Born in Lisbon in 1993, Freire studied initially with José Augusto Carneiro and Vítor Pereira. From 2010 to 2013, he attended Escola Profissional de Música da Metropolitana, where he continued his studies with Filipe Coelho, and then he proceeded to the Hochschule für Musik Hannover, where his teacher was Jeroen Berwaerts.

In the 2017/18 season, Freire joined the academy at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and also held other internship positions. In 2019, he won an audition to become solo trumpet of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, and followed this in 2023 by winning a position as co-principal trumpet in the Gulbenkian Orchestra.

Freire is also a past player in the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, who dedicated their most recent concert in Villach to his memory.

Our condolences to Freire's family, friends, and colleagues.

"Pedro has left us after only 31 years, and we are devastated," wrote the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in peace, dear Pedro."

"Pedro is in our thoughts and we send his family and loved ones lots of strength and peace," wrote the brass players of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

"We are shocked by the sudden death of our former solo trumpeter Pedro Freire, who left us far too soon today at just 31," wrote the Beethoven Orchester Bonn. "Rest in peace, dear Pedro!"