Renata Cardoso was born in Coimbra, Portugal, and still returns there for family, beaches, food, and the land’s beauty.
Her earliest musical interest was in drums and percussion but shifted to trumpet in order to pursue studies at Coimbra’s Conservatory.
Cardoso received her bachelor’s degree from the Escola Superior de Música in Lisbon, Portugal, where she studied with David Burt and Stephen Mason. She comes to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra after having completed a year of study with Barbara Butler and Charlie Geyer at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. Cardoso has twice won positions with the prestigious European Union Youth Orchestra. In 2021, she was a first-prize winner in the World Trumpet Society’s Daniel Patrylak Memorial Solo Competition. Cardoso is a past participant in the Gulbenkian Orchestra’s Summer Fellowship program and more recently won a prestigious Gulbenkian Foundation scholarship for international study.
Cardoso is an avid chef and enjoys the preparation of both her native Portuguese cuisine and the new experiences of Tex-Mex, Italian, and Asian cooking. Hailing from Portugal, and after having spent a year in Houston, Cardoso is looking forward to new experiences of autumn, snow, and hot chocolate on cold winter afternoons.