Mafalda Oliveira was born in 1997 in Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal. At the age of 10, she started learning the saxophone in Centro de Cultura Musical with the teacher Fernando Ferreira. In 2015 she finished her studies in Artave, in the class of the same teacher, with the best final average of her course. Also that year, she was accepted at the renowned Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the class of Willem van Merwijk, being transferred the year after to the class of Arno Bornkamp, with whom she is currently studying.
As a solo player, she got the first prize in the competition “Paços Premium” for saxophone in 2016 and, in 2017, the second prize in the Prinses Christina Concours Rotterdam. In 2018 she was part of two world premieres: “Concerto for Saxophone, Piano and Percussion” by Pepijn Streng in Splendor Amsterdam; and “The Spectrum of gender thought” for 4 players and 8 speakers by Dennis Matos in Bernard Haitinkzaal Amsterdam.
As a chamber music player, Mafalda got the first prize in “WMC Kerkrade 2016″ as well as the year after in the Prinses Christina Concours Rotterdam with the LagomSaxophone Quartet. In 2018, Mafalda formed a new saxophone quartet, Maat Saxophone Quartet, who got the first prize in the “Prémio Jovens Músicos” and in the National Chamber Music Competition of Vila Verde, both in Portugal. The same year, Maat Saxophone Quartet was selected for the “RaboNEXTStage” program and in 2019 they were finalists at the Grachten Festival.
The last 3 years studying in Amsterdam and working as freelancer gave her opportunities to play in the greatest concert halls of The Netherlands, such as Het Concertgebouw, Paradiso, Splendor and Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Willem Twee Toonzaal in ’s ́Hertogenbosch, Cenakel in Tilburg, TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, Muziekgebouw in Eindhoven
and also Casa da Música in Porto, Portugal.

Mafalda kunnen we horen en zien met het MAAT Saxophone Quartet op zondag 27 oktober 2019 in de kerk van Mook.