Comparing the musical scene of the USA and

Brazil.

I consider myself privileged for having the opportunity to study in

the United States twice. From 2006 to 2010 I attended college at

Miami University and received a Bachelor’s degree in music

performance. In 2016, I won an assistantship from Miami

University to work on my master’s degree, that was completed in

2018.

in addition to performing with college groups such as the Miami

University Symphony Orchestra (MUSO) and the Graduate String

Quartet, I also had the opportunity to perform with professional

groups such as the Hamilton-Fairfield Symphony Orchestra and

the Lebanon Symphony Orchestra.

After finishing my Master’s degree in 2018 I returned to Brazil to

fulfill the position of violinist at the Symphonic Orchestra of the

National Theater Claudio Santoro (OSTNCS) Brasilia-DF.

Previously I have served as concertmaster at the Sao Carlos

Philharmonic Orchestra, Mato Grosso State Symphony

Orchestra, Santo Andre Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Fukuda

and Experimental Orchestra of Repertorio.

Having experienced first-hand the musical scenario of both Brazil

and the United States allows me to do a comparison between the

music scenario of both countries. I want to show the similarities

and distinctions between them in order to guide others colleagues

that want to study music in both United States and Brazil to better

understand the particularities of each country.

Orchestras in the United States x Brazil

I started playing in a young orchestra in my hometown Taubate

at age fifteenth and when I was only eighteenth years old I won

an audition to play at Santo Andre Symphony Orchestra-Sao

Paulo a professional orchestra. On the next year I won another

audition to enter the Experimental Orchestra of Repertory in Sao

Paulo. By that time, I have moved to Sao Paulo to be able to play

in these ensembles and also to be able to continuing studying the

violin. Whereas Brazil is one of the largest countries in the world,

the best opportunities either for performing or studying classical

music are concentrated in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. That is

the reason so many music students leave their hometowns and

move to these metropolises.

That is one of big differences I see when comparing the music

scenario of Brazil and United States. While in Brazil the

opportunities either for playing in an orchestra or getting a high

education degree in music are concentrated in a few places in the

United States the opportunities for musicians are spread all over

the country. You can see music centers of excellence in dozens

of places in the US such as the Eastman school of music-New

York, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music-Indiana, Oberlin

Conservatory of Music-Ohio, Rice University Houston-Texas,

Curtis Institute-Philadelphia, New England Conservatory-

Massachusetts, Thornton Scholl of Music-California.

Comparing the number of professional orchestras in the United

States with their counterpart in Brazil show us the lacuna between

these two countries. While in the United States we have close to

eight hundred professional orchestras (League of American

Orchestras) in Brazil the number is significantly lower with

approximately fourth professional orchestras in activity. The same

discrepancy can be seen when we compare the number of high

music institutions in Brazil versus the United States.

Performing in Brazil x in the US

The routine of a professional player at the Claudio Santoro

National Theater Symphony Orchestra consist of rehearsing

Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. There is one

concert per week on Tuesday’s night starting at 8:00 pm. To be

able to learn and perform a new program each week has being

one of the most challenges for myself in doing the transition from

student to a professional player. During my years playing with the

Miami University Symphony Orchestra I got used to have almost

two months to learn and perform a new program and now I need

to develop new skills to overcome this new task that is ahead of

me.

Work in progress….