Sometimes, tasks that seem insignificant in the eyes of others can be a foundation to very useful skills. You can find real gold when you are drawn to do something to which others would say: “Why bother with that?”
In fact, us artists feel a lot of push back on our pursuit for excellence, sometimes from the voice that keeps telling us “you suck” or “I am tired… let’s give up”. Other times from outside individuals that will feel secure…
Read MoreThis is the longest piece I had to engrave (so far). Just the first violin part is 55 pages.
It's a massive work for large orchestra, choir, 7 soloists and with an estimated duration of 125 mins in a 589 page long full score. My good friend and conductor Leandro Alves when saw the picture…
Read MoreWhen accompanying slow melodies with minimum accompaniment with long notes, I found that if you are always behind you will force the orchestra to listen and follow the soloist with their own ear.
Read MoreThis is a special program for me. I have been putting it together for a while and one day it all came together almost like magic.These three pieces are tied together in several ways: Bomtempo being the “Portuguese Beethoven”, the first part of the program…
Read MoreThe basis for this program is the character Pan, the faun from Greek mythology. These pieces surround not only the stories about his myth, flute, his love for the Nymph Syrinx, but also…
Read MoreI recently found Michael Kamen’s concerto for electric guitar and orchestra. As a conductor and former guitar player, I never really had big hopes to ever be able to play as a soloist with an orchestra. But now, things are different…
Read MoreDavid Gilmour is one of my favorite guitar players. Not only that, he has a perspective on music that I can relate to and can be applied to pure music and performance.
Read MoreSomewhere along my studies, there was this spark of interest about the role of a soloist in a concerto setting. Part of it reflected my frustration with musicians that thought that it was OK to be closed in their own world oblivious about their surroundings, ignoring the fact…
Read MoreThis is quote that I got recently on a LinkedIn post. Relevant not only for conductors but for all responsible leaders.
Read MoreA musical travel guide to one of my dearest cities in Germany!
Read MoreWith Halloween coming up, I decided to put a possible concert program together.It has no intermission and is made of shorter pieces. In my opinion, concerts in special occasions or holidays, like Xmas and Halloween, should be aimed and marketed to a different audience. One that usually doesn't attend a concert hall except in these occasions.
Read MoreThe ones that know me well, are never surprised when I passionately start talking about Portuguese classical music.It hasn't always been like this, but there was something about living abroad for more than 7 years…
Read More“For me, security and beauty and not compatible. When you seek beauty, you have to forget security, and you have to go to the rim of catastrophe. There you find the beauty. If a musician makes a mistake, a crack, because he risks everything to get the most beautiful…”
Read MoreThere are a few works that seldom get performed due to its unusual instrumentation, like having a male chorus.With this sample program I am trying to feature a male chorus…
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