Don Pandeiro and Di Freitas are performers, artisans, and instrument builders who represent two different Brazilian contexts and musical styles: urban and rural, Southeast and Northeast, and samba and música nordestina. This event will showcase the unique combination of musical talent and instrument-making abilities of these two Musicians in Residence. The performances will be on Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. in the Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum, 600 South Gregory, Urbana.
Percussionist Don Pandeiro is a local musical and artistic icon in São Paulo, where he has spent most of his adult life, playing small shows, fabricating samba instruments out of innovative material, and building public art fixtures, such as a massive peace monument constructed entirely from match sticks.
Francisco Ferreira de Freitas Filho, known by his stage name Di Freitas, is a rabequeiro (fiddler), guitarist, luthier, and music educator based in Juazeiro do Norte, a city in the hinterlands of the Brazilian Northeast. Di Freitas performs on and builds his own string instruments from calabash and other found materials, and he teaches youth in his hometown to build and play their own homemade fiddles in an “orchestra” he directs.
Cosponsored by: Center for Advanced Study, Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Department of History, Division of Musicology, Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies, School of Music, Unit One/Allen Hall
Tonight’s event was organized by Mike Silvers (Musicology) and Marc Hertzman (History) with the assistance of Marcelo Kuyumjian (Music).
Thanks to the Center for Advanced Study listserv for this information item.
Don Pandeiro and Di Freitas: Brazilian Musicians/Artists at Unit One/Allen Hall from 10/4 - 10/8/16
See above for artists’ information.
All events are free and open to the public and take place in Allen Hall, 1005 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, unless noted otherwise. Free parking is available in the garage across the street.
Tuesday, October 4
6:30 p.m. – Samba Percussion Workshop w/ Don Pandeiro (Main Lounge)
6:30 p.m. - Dance Music of Northeastern Brazil: Strings and Flute Workshop w/ Di Freitas (South Rec)
Two concurrent Brazilian music workshops: one for percussionists and percussionist-wannabes interested in Brazil’s samba rhythms, the other for string players (violinists, violists, guitarists, banjo players, and others welcome) and flutists who are interested in learning the dance music of rural northeastern Brazil.
8:00 p.m. – Brazilian Music Performance and Q&A: Don Pandeiro and Di Freitas (Main Lounge)
Join us for a concert featuring Don Pandeiro and Di Freitas, with guest appearances by participants in the Brazilian music workshops.
Wednesday, October 5
3:30 - 4:00 p.m. – WEFT Studio Performance (stream @ WEFT.org)
Thursday, October 6
7pm – Northeast by Southeast: a Night of Brazilian Regional Music (Spurlock Museum Knight Auditorium) – see above for more details
Saturday, October 8
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Instrument Making Workshop w/ Don Pandero and Di Freitas (South Rec) Build your own playable fiddle out of scraps of wood and found materials, and make shakers and other Brazilian percussion instruments. Lunch break in the middle.
2:00 p.m. - Samba Percussion Workshop w/ Don Pandeiro (Main Lounge)
2:00 p.m. - Dance Music of Northeastern Brazil: Strings and Flute Workshop w/ Di Freitas (South Rec)
Two concurrent Brazilian music workshops: one for percussionists and percussionist-wannabes interested in Brazil’s samba rhythms, the other for string players (violinists, violists, guitarists, banjo players, and others welcome) and flutists who are interested in learning the dance music of rural northeastern Brazil. Bring your handmade instruments if you made them.
Cosponsored by Center for Advanced Study, Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies, Department of History, Division of Musicology, Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies, School of Music, and Unit One/Allen Hall
Thanks to Laura Haber of Unit One/Allen Hall for these information items.
**********