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Buy tickets to May 16th show.
April 12 2021 concert April 13th 2021 concert
Berkeley Festival of Choro 2024
The Berkeley Festival of Choro is a
fiscally sponsored affiliate of Intermusic SF
The 9th Berkeley Festival of Choro presentsProveta and Penezzi
8pm May 16th at the Freight and Salavge in Berkeley.
In music, as in football, the meeting of stars is not a guarantee of a perfect ensemble. More than the sum of individualities, there must be generosity, dedication, rapport, communion.
Old friendship celebrates the meeting between two of Brazil's greatest instrumentalists, Nailor Proveta and Alessandro Penezzi. And here the symbiosis of great musical encounters is present from the first note to the last.
Proveta and Penezzi are two rare artists. On the one hand, they play with the naturalness of those who speak, they play with such virtuosity that musical ideas seem to overflow. On the other hand, they don't leave the music spilled, there is no note thrown away. Above all, however, generosity prevails. In many moments of the album, we hear a devilish Proveta, infected by Penezzi's vibration and energy. In the same proportion as we see Penezzi using Proveta's signature palette of a thousand colors. Everything in the greatest joy, everything in the greatest balance.
We could highlight the modernity that emanates from the music of Proveta and Penezzi, in a completely original and unprecedented repertoire, in the restlessness in the search for the most sinuous melodies, the most surprising harmonies. We could also talk about the tradition that permeates the entire concept of their music. After all, composing or performing are two musicians who look forward without the need to fight with the legacies of the past. In addition to being modern or traditional, however, this is an extemporaneous encounter. The old friendship celebrated on this album is ancestral, it is everlasting.
In times of drought, Proveta and Penezzi show the path where Brazilian music flows abundantly.—Paulo Aragão (composer, arranger and guitarist of the Maogani Quarteto)
We want to thank Berkeley Civic Arts Grant program for awarding us a grant to make this possible. THANK YOU!
Other events:
May 15th Matutos de Bahia at the Hillside Club
Matutos de Bahia, directed by Grammy Nominated music educator, Zack Pitt-Smith will perform a concert at the Hillside Club in Berkeley. This is a free concert and is part of our student education program. Following the student program will be a "Roda de Choro" (choro jam session).
Festival 2021 concerts still viewable on Youtube!!
Both concerts are available on the Berkeley Choro Ensemble - YouTube channel. Please subscribe to our channel to get new updates.
Pioneer Women Composers of Brazil
Read Daniella Thompson's 2021 article on two of Brazil's best known women composers, Chiquinha Gonzaga and Carolina Cardoso de Menezes. Composition by these two prolific women composers featured in the 2021 choro festival celebration of women in Brazilian music.