Cupertinos
Founded in 2009 by the Cupertino de Miranda Foundation (Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal), the vocal ensemble Cupertinos is dedicated almost exclusively to the Portuguese musical heritage of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, based on world-famous composers such as Duarte Lobo, Manuel Cardoso, Filipe de Magalhães and Pedro de Cristo.

Giving over fifteen concerts each year, the Cupertinos have presented around 300 works to date, including over 120 modern premieres. Several of these unpublished works have been transcribed from their original sources by members of the Cupertinos themselves under the guidance of music director Luís Toscano and musicologist Professor José Abreu (University of Coimbra and ESMAE).

Besides the International Festival of Portuguese Polyphony that they host, the Cupertinos have participated in renowned music festivals in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany. The group’s UK debut in the ‘Choral at Cadogan’ concert series was followed by performances at the Laus Polyphoniae festival in Antwerp and at the Wigmore Hall in London.

Since 2022 the Cupertinos have been members of REMA (Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne), the most prominent European network dedicated to the safeguarding and dissemination of early music, with 134 members and representatives from over twenty countries.

The Cupertinos are renowned as ‘true ambassadors of Portuguese polyphony’, and this epithet has been greatly enhanced by their earlier albums, dedicated in turn to Manuel Cardoso, Duarte Lobo, Pedro de Cristo and Filipe de Magalhães. Released by Hyperion, these recordings appear regularly on classical radio stations across Europe and North America, and have been acclaimed by BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, Choir & Organ and Chorzeit, among others. Their debut album was nominated for a Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, and won a 2019 Gramophone Award in the ‘Early Music’ category. They were finalists in the 2020 ‘PLAY—Portuguese Music Awards’ and in 2021 were winners in the PLAY Best Classical Album category.

Luís Toscano
Having trained as a young chorister in the Coro dos Pequenos Cantores de Coimbra, Luís continued his musical studies at Coimbra Conservatory, while also achieving a Licentiate Diploma in Economy from Coimbra University. He subsequently obtained a Portuguese Government scholarship to research, edit and perform sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Portuguese music, and completed his Masters in Music at Aveiro University. He is now studying for a PhD in Art/Music Studies at Coimbra, where he is a researcher at the Centre for Classical and Humanistic Studies.

Critically acclaimed as ‘a major exponent of Portuguese Renaissance polyphony’ and ‘a musician of refined instinct’, Luís was until 2023 the music director and a member of Cupertinos, with whom he was awarded Gramophone’s Early Music Award in 2019.

Based in Denmark since 2024, Luís is active as director and singer, specializing in pre-Classical and contemporary repertoires. He is a co-founder of vocal ensemble Quarto Tom and a member of Ars Nova Copenhagen. He was a founding member of Coro Casa da Música, and works regularly with other prominent ensembles in Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom.