Born on October 10, 2002, Francisco Moniz da Cunha Soares Esteves began his musical studies at the age of 8 at the National Conservatory School of Music. He was a student of Professor Marilyn Brito during his first four years of violin, later continuing with Professor Pedro Lopes, who guided him until the end of secondary education. Throughout his journey, he received awards in various competitions, such as the International Competition Cidade do Fundão and the Vasco Barbosa Competition, where he had the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the Camerata Atlântica at the CCB. As a member of Da Caprio, he participated in the 2018 Prémio Jovens Músicos in the Chamber Music category, where he won first prize at the intermediate level, later performing at the Grand Auditorium of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Francisco was part of the Portuguese Youth Orchestra from 2015 to 2019, participating in tours to Berlin and Romania. Through the MusXchange program, he had the opportunity to join the Joven Orquesta Nacional de España in its first session of 2021.

During his studies, he attended masterclasses with several professors, including Kirill Troussov, Zorab Tadevosyan, and Ulf Schneider.

Francisco completed his Bachelor’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln in Germany, where he initially studied with Professor Barnabas Kelemen and later continued with Professor Michael Foyle. He now continues his studies with Professor Foyle, as a Masters student.