"First portuguese ever chosen by ROLEX"

Myriam Gaspar | Sábado, 17.05.15

It was with surprise that Vasco Mendonça received the news that he had been selected for the Rolex Mentor & Protegé program, which allows a restricted group of seven artists from around the world to spend a year with renowned names from various fields. The 38-year-old composer confessed he had never heard of the initiative before that, which has existed since 2002 and brings together emerging artists with the world's leading artists. (...)

It was with renewed surprise that he realised he had been selected for the second round, in which three finalists are chosen for each area - visual arts; cinema; literature; dance; theater; architecture; and music. The last step was to have a personal conversation with the mentor, Kaija Saariaho, with whom he met in Lyon. "The funniest thing is that we talked about everything but music," says Vasco Mendonça, which turned out in the end to be chosen by the Finnish composer. Kaija Saariaho (...) made a point of coming to Portugal to see the environment in which Vasco Mendonça works. The empathy between the two is clear. Vasco Mendonça, who began studying music at age 13, likes to quote Stravinsky when asked about his source of inspiration. After taking his two children to school he goes every day to his office, where he works until 19h. "If inspiration comes, she´ll know where to find me," he jokes. (...)