Harpsichordist Rafaela Salgado began her harpsichord studies at the age of eight, in Braga. She later earned her degree from the Early Music Department of the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, where she studied with Jacques Ogg (harpsichord) and Patrick Ayrton (basso continuo and improvisation).

In 2020, she moved to Basel, where she continued her studies at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, completing a Master’s in Performance under the guidance of Andrea Marcon. In 2024, she completed a Master’s in “Generalbass und Ensembleleitung” under Jörg-Andreas Bötticher.

She regularly collaborates with various ensembles and orchestras, including the Casa da Música Baroque Orchestra, Collegium Marianum (Prague), the Porto Casa da Música Symphony Orchestra, the Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, and the Portuguese Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of conductors such as Laurence Cummings, Christian Zacharias, Nils Schweckendiek, among others.

Her concert activity has led her to perform at numerous major early music festivals across Europe, including the Resonanzen Festival at the Wiener Konzerthaus, the MA Festival Brugge, the Bachfest Leipzig, and the Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik.

In 2024, she won the Prémio Jovens Músicos in the Baroque Music category, having previously been awarded the First Prize in the Harpsichord category (advanced level) in 2018. She has been recognized in various international competitions, including the Van Wassenaer Competition at the prestigious Utrecht Early Music Festival, where she received the Second and Third Prizes, as well as the Festival Tour Prize.