and Ensemble São Paulo

In this concert, violinist, composer and arranger Ricardo Herz joins the renowned Ensemble São Paulo to perform a repertoire focused on our rich Brazilian music. From pieces from our children’s folklore to compositions by Herz, the songs chosen go through different rhythms, such as baião, choro, chamamé, toada, among others. It’s an acoustic and vibrant concert, with a lot of emotion and energy.

Ensemble SP – release

The chamber music quartet, Ensemble São Paulo, has received critical acclaim for concerts in Brazil and abroad. Their repertoire comprises works form the pre-classical period through pieces from contemporary composers, including Nicolau Figueiredo, Ricardo Castro, Teco Cardoso, Daniel Binelli, Antonio Carlos Carrasqueira, André Mehmari, Nelson Ayres, and Nailor Proveta. Further, their concerts are notable in that the pieces are narrated, allowing the public to glean a deeper understanding of the music

Members of the Ensemble have been awarded a number of prizes for their performances, including the ACPA Prize and the Carlos Gomes Chamber Music Prize, and developed a number of didactic workshops at music festivals in Brazil (Campos do Jordão, Poços de Caldas, Curitiba & Jaraguá do Sul [FEMUSC]), at Brazilian universities (USP, UNESP & UCS), and abroad (Pensacola C. College & University of Georgia).

BETINA STEGMANN – violino
Diplomada pela Escola Superior de Música de Colônia, Alemanha, aperfeiçoou-se em Tel-Aviv, Israel. Atuou como recitalista e solista na América Latina, EUA e Europa e gravou para as emissoras WDR (Alemanha) e RAI (Itália). Foi integrante do Quinteto D’Elas e é spalla da Orquestra de Câmara Villa-Lobos, professora de violino na Faculdade Cantareira e membro do Quarteto de Cordas da Cidade de São Paulo.

NELSON RIOS – violino
Bacharel pela Faculdade Mozarteum, freqüentou a Carnegie Mellon University em Pittsburgh, EUA, com bolsa Vitae. Foi fundador do Quinteto Ravel (atual Quinteto da Paraíba) e integrou as orquestras Sinfônica da Paraíba, de Câmara de Blumenau e Jazz Sinfônica, entre outras. É membro das orquestras de Câmara Villa-Lobos e Sinfônica da USP e do Quarteto de Cordas da Cidade de São Paulo.

MARCELO JAFFÉ – viola
Premiado aos 14 anos em concurso nacional da Universidade de Brasília, aperfeiçoou-se na Universidade de Illinois e no Centro de Música de Tanglewood, nos EUA. Foi diretor artístico da Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica de São Paulo. É professor de viola na Escola de Comunicações e Artes da Universidade de São Paulo, apresentador da Rádio e TV Cultura e membro do Quarteto de Cordas da Cidade de São Paulo.

RODRIGO ANDRADE – violoncelo
Nasceu em 1978, iniciou seus estudos aos 6 anos com o Prof. Jean-Jacques Pagnot na UFRGS. Estudou com Steven Thomas na Hartt School e formou-se pela Juilliard School, onde foi aluno e assistente de Ardyth Alton. Foi membro e cello principal da Juilliard Symphony e Juilliard Orchestra, assim como membro da Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre. Atualmente é violoncelista da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, membro do Quarteto Romanov e professor do Instituto Baccarelli.

About Ricardo Herz:
Violinist, composer, and arranger Ricardo Herz joins with the Ensemble São Paulo string quartet to celebrate the sonic richness of Brazilian music. Folkloric themes, children’s songs, urban and rural standards, and original compositions by Herz are arranged and interpreted through a diversity of rhythyms, such as the baião, choro, chamamé, and toada. The result is a soaring concert of five interlaced voices that captures the deep history and complexity of Brazil.

Ricardo Herz has reinvented the violin. With unparalleled originality, charm and swing, he has captured the irrepressible spirit of Brazil and revolutionized the voice of the violin in popular music. Herz is a graduate in classical violin from the Universidade de São Paulo, having laid his musical foundation at the Fukuda School in São Paulo beginning at age 6. Since then, he has studied at the renowned Berklee College of Music (USA) and at the Centre des Musiques Didier Lockwood, school of the legendary French jazz violinist.

Since returning to Brazil in 2010, Herz has performed in musical collaborations with many of the most important musicians in Brazil, and as a soloist with a wide variety of orchestras, such as with Yamandú Costa, Dominguinhos, Nelson Ayres, Proveta, Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica, Orquestra Sinfônica de João Pessoa, Orquestra Municipal de Jundiaí, Projeto Guri, Orquestra Filarmônica de Violas, and Orquestra Breusil.

With his Ricardo Herz Trio, he has recorded two albums, “Aqui é o meu lá” and “Torcendo a Terra.” He has also recorded a number of duo albums: with vibraphonist/composer Antonio Loureiro, accordionist Samuca do Acordeon, pianist/arranger/conductor Nelson Ayres, and, most recently, virtuoso guitarist Yamandú Costa. He has also released an album of children’s music, and performed this repertoire with the Cantilena Ensemble.

Herz is also a dedicated teacher and promoter of Brazilian violin. He has taught in diverse settings and recently launched his own online “Brazilian Popular Violin Course.”

The chamber music quartet, Ensemble São Paulo, has received critical acclaim for concerts in Brazil and abroad. Their repertoire comprises works form the pre-classical period through pieces from contemporary composers, including Nicolau Figueiredo, Ricardo Castro, Teco Cardoso, Daniel Binelli, Antonio Carlos Carrasqueira, André Mehmari, Nelson Ayres, and Nailor Proveta. Further, their concerts are notable in that the pieces are narrated, allowing the public to glean a deeper understanding of the music.