Francisco Lima da Silva is a Portuguese composer and violinist based in Lisbon (Portugal). His work has been recognized with several accolades, including the first prize and public prize at the 14th International Music Festival of Póvoa de Varzim for his piece "Lucid Dream". His composition "Derealisation" was selected for the BBC NOW - Composition Wales 2021. In 2023, his first opera, "Rigor Mortis", with a libretto by A. Baião-Pinto, premiered at Operafest Lisboa. Lima da Silva has collaborated with prestigious orchestras and ensembles, including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Ensemble Recherche, Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, Ensemble mpmp, Riot Ensemble, and Darcos Ensemble, among others. His diverse body of work spans orchestral music, ensemble music, operatic compositions, film scores, theatre music, electronic music, and various arrangements and orchestrations.

Francisco began his violin studies at the Conservatory of Music from Metropolitana with Inês Saraiva. He earned his Instrument Performance for Orchestra degree from the National Academy of Advanced Orchestral Studies (NAAOS) in Lisbon at Aníbal Lima’s violin class. In 2017, he moved to Madrid for private composition lessons with David del Puerto and César Viana. Francisco was awarded a distinction for his MA in Arts (Composition) from Cardiff University in 2019 with Pedro Faria Gomes, Arlene Sierra and Robert Fokkens. He is currently pursuing a PhD under the supervision of Pedro Faria Gomes and Nicholas Jones in the same institution. He also completed post-graduate studies in Applied Composition at ESML with Luis Naon, Michael Tadini, Rut Schreiner, and Alex Waite, and in Film Scoring at NAAOS with Nuno Dario, Steve Rothstein, Kate Falk-Flores, Joel Dollie, Conrado Xalabarder, and António Rui Ribeiro.

Francisco teaches Music Analysis and Creativity Music Projects at Academia Amigos das Crianças and Escola de Música do Colégio Moderno. He is also an active violinist, performing regularly in Portugal with the Hedera 4tet.