Marco Pereira
Marco Pereira was born in Sao Paulo and got classical guitar lessons with the uruguayan master Isaias Sávio and music theory lessons at the Music and Drama Conservatory of São Paulo. He lived in France for five years and received a classical guitar master's degree in performance from the Université Musicale Internationale of Paris, and a master's degree in Musicology from the University of Paris-Sorbonne with his thesis Heitor Villa-Lobos and his guitar work (Editora Musimed – Brasília – Brasil).
In Paris, he was strongly influenced by jazz and Latin-American music which characterizes his compositional work, added to Brazilian styles. He performed with great success at 9ème Festival de Jazz de Paris that allowed him to perform in Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Canada and the United States.
In Spain, he won two awards in important international guitar competitions: Concurso Andrés Segóvia (Palma de Mallorca) and Concurso Francisco Tárrega (Valencia). Returning to Brazil, Marco settled in Brasilia after he was invited by UnB (University of Brasilia) to establish the courses of Classical Guitar and Functional Harmony. He recorded two albums for the label Som da Gente: Violão Popular Brasileiro Contemporaneo – 1985 - and Circulo das Cordas – 1987 - which were presented in The Town Hall in New York, in 1988.
Starting in 1990, and already living in Rio de Janeiro, Marco took part in the Free Jazz Festival in four instances: in a memorable performance with Trio D'Alma in 1989; with his own work in 1991; with Wagner Tiso in 1992, and with Edu Lobo in 1996. He recorded with many prominent artists in the Brazilian musical scenario, such as, Zélia Duncan, Edu Lobo, Cassia Eller, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Wagner Tiso, Daniela Mercury, Zizi Possi, Rildo Hora, Paulinho da Viola, Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Leila Pinheiro, Fátima Guedes, Nelson Goncalves and Roberto Carlos amongst others.
Marco received the important Sharp Award in two different editions: as Best Arranger (1993) for Gal Costa's album and as Best Soloist and Best Album of the Year (1994) for Bons Encontros with the pianist Cristovão Bastos.
Currently, he a professor in the Composition Departament at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). His compositions were issued by the publisher Éditions Lemoine - Paris, France - and GSP (Guitar Solo Publications) - San Francisco, CA, USA - and have been played and recorded by important guitarists all around the world.
In 1995, Marco released three albums: Dança dos Quatro Ventos for the Belgian label GHA; Elegia for Channel Classics of The Netherlands; and Brasil Musical for the Brazilian label Tom Brasil.
In 1999, Marco released his solo album Valsas Brasileiras with an exquisite repertoire of the modern Brazilian popular waltzes. In 2001 he released the album Luz das Cordas recorded with the mandolin player Hamilton de Holanda.
In 2004 he recorded two different albums: Original – GSP (Guitar Solo Publications - San Francisco, CA –www.gspguitar.com ) with his own compositions for solo guitar, and O samba da minha terra – Independent – with new arrangements and compositions for guitar, bass, drums and percussion.
Currently, he a professor in the Composition Departament at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). His compositions were issued by the publisher Éditions Lemoine - Paris, France - and GSP (Guitar Solo Publications) - San Francisco, CA, USA - and have been played and recorded by important guitarists all around the world.
He has two CDs released in Europe: Stella del Matino (EGEA – Perugia – Italy) and Essence (Kind of Blue – Lugano – Switzerland).
In 2007 he will release the album Camerístico for guitar and orchestra with his own compostions and arrangements as well as the book+CD about Brazilian Grooves for Guitar.
www.marcopereira.com.br
Brasil Guitar Duo
Classical Guitar Magazine exclaims: “The maturity of musicianship and technical virtuosity …is simply outstanding.” in describing the Brasil Guitar Duo, winner of the 2006 Concert Artists Guild International Competition. Equally at home on a Classical or a World Music series, the Duo’s innovative programming features a seamless blend of traditional and Brazilian works, resulting in a full global touring schedule and numerous critically acclaimed recordings.
Highlights of the Brasil Guitar Duo’s 2009-10 US concerts include the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts’ biennial Ellnora Guitar Festival, University of Chicago, Kansas State University, Spivey Hall at Clayton State University (GA), Black Rock Center for the Performing Arts (MD), Lawrence University (WI) and the Montalvo Center for the Arts, as well as Joe’s Pub in New York City. International engagements include Two Moors Festival and Cardiff University in the UK, in addition to concerts in Korea and Brazil.
A favorite of summer festivals, the Brasil Guitar Duo has performed at New York’s River to River Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, Stowe Summer Music Festival (VT), Lancaster Festival (OH), and abroad, the Bermuda Guitar Festival, the Outreach Festival in Tirol, Austria and Sao Paulo’s Campos do Jordão international Festival. In addition, they performed a special collaborative program with soprano Sarah Wolfson at the Chautauqua Festival and the Cooperstown Chamber Music Festival.
In the recording studio, the Brasil Guitar Duo’s debut for the Naxos label features two CDs of the complete works for two guitars by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, the first of which was released in 2008 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the composer’s death, and the latest was released in June 2009. Just one of many stellar reviews includes the American Record Guide, which said: “It would be hard to imagine a better performance...This is wonderful music played at the highest interpretive level.” Previously, the Duo’s first CD of all-Brazilian repertoire, Bom Partido, was released in August 2007 on CAG Records and is now in its third printing. The next project features the complete Bach Flute Sonatas with flutist Marina Piccinini, due for release in 2010.
Eager advocates for both traditional and new concerti for two guitars and orchestra, the Duo’s recent concerto performances include with the Dallas and Houston Symphony Orchestras, Dayton Philharmonic, Lancaster Symphony (OH) and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre.
Recent featured recital engagements in New York City include Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York Guitar Seminar at Mannes College, New York Classical Guitar Society and a special concert of works by Tania León at Symphony Space. In addition, they have performed for the Orange County (CA) Performing Arts Center, Lied Center of the University of Kansas, Purdue University Convocations, Daytona Beach International Festival, Virginia Arts Festival, CityFolk Festival in Dayton, OH, the Santa Barbara Symphony’s Guitar Festival and for Miami Guitar Festival and the Asociacion Nacional de Conciertos in Panama City and the Classical Guitar Societies of St. Louis, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Tucson and Upstate New York.
The Duo appears frequently in conjunction with CAG’s highly regarded New Music/New Places initiative, performing in diverse non-traditional spaces. Just some of the venues who have hosted the duo are: BAMcafé and Barbés Bar and Performance Space in Brooklyn; Long Island’s Cinema Arts Centre; Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs; and Philadelphia’s World Café Live. The Brasil Guitar Duo is perfectly suited for these non-traditional venues, having established a broad repertoire of classical guitar duos (Bach, Sor, Scarlatti, etc.) combined with the traditional music of its native land (choro samba, maxixe and baião).
João Luiz and Douglas Lora met in São Paulo as teenage guitar students and have been performing together for more than ten years, perfecting a sublime synchronicity and effortless performance style. The ensemble’s primary studies were with Henrique Pinto along with Fabio Zanon, Paulo Martelli, Sergio Abreu and Alice Artz. Douglas Lora recently completed a Master’s degree at the University of Miami as a student of Dr. Rene Gonzalez. João Luiz is a member of the guitar quartet Quaternaglia.
www.concertartists.org/brasil_bio.htm |
