José Eduardo Rocha (JER)

Composer, musician, artist, author, theatre director and lecturer, JER was born in Lisbon in 1961. Having studied fine arts at the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade de Lisboa, musical composition at the Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa, and musicology at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, he obtained a Post-graduate degree in theatre in 2008 from the University of Alcalá, Madrid.

In 1990 he founded Ensemble JER – The Lisbon Plastics, a group formed to play a repertoire for toy instruments, instrumental music and musical theatre. Ensemble JER has given more than 200 shows in Portugal, Spain and Germany.

As a composer, he has written opera, musical theatre, instrumental music, chamber music, choral music and music for theatre and cinema.
Of particular note are: A Saga da Formiga (The Saga of the Ant) (Theatre in the Decade Award, 1992), Volkswagner (Maria Matos Theatre, 1996, Hannover Expo, 2000), Football (Monumental Festival, 1995, Belém Cultural Centre, 1997), Sinfonia Náutica (Nautical Symphony) (Lisbon Expo, 1998), Missa l’Homme Armé (Lisbon Cathedral, 1999), the opera Os Fugitivos (Trindade Theatre/RTP, 2004), Cozido à Portuguesa (D. Maria II National Theatre, 2006), Zeck (Trindade Theatre, 2007), the musical comedy A Conquista do Oeste (‘How the West Was Won’, on the 200th Anniversary of the Lines of Torres Vedras, 2010), the chamber opera Cabaret Vicente (São Luiz Municipal Theatre, 2014), and the mini-opera Os Malefícios do Tabaco (Grémio Caldense, 2021).

JER has participated in various musical, theatrical, and cinema festivals, in Portuguese and international biennials, and also in Universal Expos like Expo ‘98 and Expo Hannover’2000.

Since 1998 he has lectured at the Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Caldas da Rainha (ESAD.CR) in the Fine Arts, Design, Sound and Image, Cultural Animation and Theatre faculties.