Portuguese cellist Mafalda Santos captivates audiences with her engaging presence and passion for sharing music and stories. A winner of over 20 international awards, she has performed at acclaimed venues such as Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall and Berliner Philharmoniker.Since her debut with the FIME Ensemble at fourteen, Mafalda has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras in Europe and the United States. As a dedicated chamber musician, Mafalda has participated in renowned series like Shriver Hall and at festivals such as Four Seasons, Kneisel Hall, and Kronberg. Passionate about music’s societal impact, Mafalda was the 2021/2022 Musician-in-Residence at the Edenwald Senior Living Community, where she lived with and provided musical services to 350 senior residents. She also co-founded “Storytelling, Storyplaying,” a concert series that brings literature and music to public schools.Beyond performance, Mafalda is committed to education and curation. She is a content creator for tonebase, developing resources for cellists worldwide, and works for the Boulanger Initiative, expanding its database of gender-marginalized composers. She has served as cello and chamber music faculty at festivals such as the Chamber Music Perspectives Workshop, ContemporArt, and Lyra Music Festival.Mafalda holds degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and is currently a post-residential doctoral candidate at Yale University. Mafalda performs on a Jeffrey Muller cello generously on loan from The Maestro Foundation.