Sara Claro started studying Ear Training and Piano at the age of eight, enrolling one year later at the Conservatório de Música Calouste Gulbenkian de Braga. She studied piano with Maria Augusta Clavel Leite de Castro and was a member of the Conservatory’s Choir from 1995 to 2003. In 1998 she played as a soloist in a Haydn piano concert with the Conservatory’s Orchestra, conducted by António Baptista.

In 2000 Sara Claro started her first Composition studies with Paulo Bastos at the Conservatory, where she also studied Electroacoustic.

In 2003 she successfully applied to the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa (ESML) to complete a First Degree in Composition, graduating in 2007, with mark 19 (out of 20). She studied with some of the most well recognized Portuguese composers such as Luís Tinoco, Carlos Caires, Christopher Bochmann, among others.

As a student at ESML Sara Claro co-organized various events, including the concerts "Peças Frescas" (Student Composers’ Concerts), promoting the newest Portuguese music and composers. She also co-directed the IV and V Music Festivals of the ESML, having her music performed in some of the festivals’ concerts.

In 2004 she wrote the soundtrack for the short-film "E Se Eu Fosse Lá Abaixo Rir Um Bocado", directed by Samuel Amaral.

In 2007 she received a commission from the Young Musicians Prize, promoted by the Antena 2 — Portuguese Radio Broadcast; and was selected by the Reading Panel for Young Composers promoted by the Orquestra do Algarve. In September of that same year her work was performed by the OrchestrUtopica at the Culturgest / Festival Expresso Oriente. Sara Claro’s music was also performed and recorded by the pianist Olga Prats on her latest CD, released in December of 2007.

(written by Portuguese Music Information Centre)