Vinicius Lira Coutinho

(Curitiba, Brazil) Vinicius Lira, Brazilian flutist trained at leading institutions in the Americas and Europe. He began his higher music studies in 2012 at the School of Music and Fine Arts of Paraná, under the direction of maestro Giampiero Pilatti. He served as flutist and piccoloist with the Paraná Symphony Orchestra from 2013 to 2015, principal flutist of the Ponta Grossa Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2014, and soloist with the Curitiba Music Workshop Symphonic Band in 2016. Recognized in various national competitions, such as Prelúdio and Pre-Estreia on TV Cultura, Vinicius Lira won second prize in the III Youth Soloist Competition of the Goiás Philharmonic Orchestra in 2015, where he was also selected as a promising talent.
He studied with Jacques Zoon at the Reina Sofía School of Music, where he received from Her Majesty Queen Sofía the Diploma for most outstanding student of the flute chair in the 2017-18 academic year. He subsequently trained with Jessica Dalsant and has received masterclasses from Jaime Martín, Emmanuel Pahud, Pirmin Grehl, Emily Beynon, Fenwick Smith, Carol Wincenc, Michel Belavance, Bulent Evcil, Nicole Esposito, and Jonathan Kelly, among others.
As a student of the School, he has been a member of the Freixenet Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Víctor Pablo Pérez, Plácido Domingo, and András Schiff. He has also been part of the Sinfonietta, directed by Johannes Kalitzke, Baldur Brönnimann, and Jorge Rotter; the Harmonie Group, the Orfeo Quintet and Sextet, the Scarlatti Casa de la Moneda Quintet, the Cosan Group, and the Baroque Group.
He currently teaches and has served as flute professor at the Monteverdi Conservatory and at Musicarium – Brazilian Philharmonic Academy, a project founded in southern Brazil with the aim of providing quality education for children and young people.