Orchestral sounds

Heading out to Montana next week.

Next week I will be heading to Missoula, Montana, to collaborate with the Missoula Symphony Orchestra under Maestra Julia Tai. In the program will be a world premiere of my piece Acalanto d’Alaia, dedicated to my new granddaughter Alaia, who turns 9 months old soon. We will also play another orchestral piece dedicated to my oldest granddaughter Emília, Milonga da Emília, along with music by my mentor Hermeto Pascoal that I have orchestrated and a traditional Native American Mandan Hidatsa song featuring my friend Keith Bear singing. Lots of music!

Here’s a video from the world premiere of Milonga da Emília in 2018, with the Danish Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark:

In addition, the Missoula Jazz Orchestra directed by Rob Tapper will play a few of my compositions for big band, such as Carambola, which you can hear here with the Amazonas Band, from my recent album A Onça E O Pajé:

This is quite an adventure for me. I have been practicing all my piano parts and trying to memorize as much as possible. Some of this music is brand new to me, and some has been lying dormant in my muscle and ear memory for years. The process of rediscovering pieces after a long time is fascinating. It shows how music is stored in our bodies and our brains, and how it behaves once it wakes up.

Orchestral gigs are hard to come by, and they require a lot of advance work - composition, orchestration, rehearsals and mental preparation. Still, I really enjoy this kind of work. Each performance brings the immediacy of the moment being celebrated with a live audience. The time spent in preparation for an evening of music far surpasses the concert time, but this is what keeps me alive and excited to continue doing this.

If you are a pianist and are located near Seattle, I am doing a live piano clinic on Tuesday, April 7 from 6:30 to 8PM at Kerry Hall, titled Around the World in 88 Keys. Aimed at all ages and all levels of experience, this event will have the participants sitting around the piano, as I will demonstrate tools, grooves and tricks to expand your repertoire of pianistic ideas. You can sign up for this clinic here.

I am playing other gigs around town in the coming weeks, and you can check them out on my website’s calendar page

More stories coming soon!

Thanks for your support!

Jovino