Francisco Lucena Pais, composition (Porto, Portugal and Berlin, Germany), began his piano studies at the age of five. Admitted to the Porto Conservatory of Music, he joined António Oliveira's class while also studying with Artur Pizarro in Lisbon. Upon completing the piano course with the highest grades, Francisco left for Germany at the age of 17. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Composition with Jörg Widmann at the Barenboim-Said Akademie. Daniel Barenboim, Emmanuel Pahud, Unsuk Chin, Dieter Ammann, and Stephan Winkler have been important educational influences for him. Francisco's compositions have been premiered at the Lucerne Festival (Switzerland) and at the Pierre Boulez Saal (Germany).