Alexandre Ribeiro
Duo Violao Brasil
Eduardo Neves
Amilton Godoy Lea Freire Duo
Anat Cohen
Choroloco
Tim Connell
Berkeley Choro Ensemble
Francois de Lima
Gileno Santana/Enrique Neto Duo
Choro de Ouro
Claudia Villela
Roberta Cunha Valente
Felipe Senna
Brian Moran
Nailor Proveta, Alessandro Penezzi
Past Choro Festival Artists
Almir Cortes
Berkeley Festival of Choro 2025 Artists
Vitor Goncalves
Choro das 3
Daniel Canosa
Grupo Falso Baiano
Léa Freire
Ian Coury
Irene Sazer
Carol Panesi
Daniela Spielmann DANIELA SPIELMANN is a saxophonist, flutist, composer, arranger, researcher, and professor, known for her interpretive power combined with the creativity in her compositions and arrangements. In 2001, she released her first solo album, Brazilian Breath, which was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2002. She was part of the band on the Brazilian TV show Altas Horas, hosted by Serginho Groisman, from 2000 to 2014, where she arranged weekly music segments. She has released fourteen career albums with groups such as Rabo de Lagartixa (nominated for the Music Award in 2010), Mulheres em Pixinguinha in 2018, and Afinidades, a fully original work. Currently, she leads her solo project and the duo Spielmann Zagury and is an active member of groups like Choro na Rua, Gafieirando, and 7 Cabeças alongside drummer Charles Gavin.
Daniela Spielmann is frequently invited to lead workshops, masterclasses, and seminars both in Brazil and internationally, developing a vibrant national and international career. She has performed with prominent artists in Brazilian Popular Music (MPB), such as Sivuca, Zé Menezes, Zé da Velha, Silvério Pontes, Anat Cohen, Aurea Martins, and others. In 2008, she completed her master’s thesis at UNI-RIO on the performance of Paulo Moura, earning her Master’s degree in Music. In 2017, she finished her Ph.D. in Musicology with a dissertation on Gafieiras in Rio de Janeiro, receiving special commendation. Currently, she is a music professor at Cefet-RJ Maracanã, where she leads two significant extension projects: Music at Cefet and Bandão do Cefet. She has received honorary mentions from the City Councils of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, as well as awards and recognitions in various fields. In 2020, she won two composition awards with Sobrinhada and Mergulho, and in 2021, she was named Best Performer by MEC Radio for her original piece Anatilda. In 2024, the group Choro na Rua was nominated for the Music Award in multiple categories and won in two: Best Instrumental Group and best New Group.
Sheila Zagury is a pianist, arranger, professor and researcher. She has an eclectic background, passing by classical music and jazz. Sheila has already performed with numerous famous Brazilian artists and ensembles, such as Eduardo Dussek, Ângela Rorô, Rio Jazz Orchestra, UFRJazz, Georgia Szpilman and Marianna Leporace, around Brazil and abroad. She has maintained a duo with Daniela Spielmann for 20 years. They have two CDs, “Brasileirinhas” in 2007 and “Entre. Mil… Você!” (Among All… You!) CD, launched in 2020, still in the Covid pandemic. Sheila has also a long duo with José Stance (harmonica player). Sheila performed in Staneck’s CD, “A Poética de uma Harmônica Brasileira” (The Poetry of a Brazilian Harmonica) . José Staneck e Sheila reunited with cellist Ricardo Santoro and they formed Harmonitango, a trio dedicated to Astor Piazzolla’s music. Sheila is also a member of Orquestra Lunar, an ensemble only with women. They recorded a CD and were signed to Music Tim Premium in 2007. Sheila is a professor at Escola de Música da UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro Music School). She acts as a researcher as well, her PHD’s thesis is about Choro in Rio de Janeiro in the nineties.
Cellist and composer Catherine Bent, originally from London, UK, has lived in New York City and Brazil and currently resides in Boston. Her musical versatility is reflected in her diverse resumé, which includes recordings, performances and tours with Cirque du Soleil, Joe Jackson, Lee Konitz, Greg Osby, Merce Cunningham Dance, Enya, Kanye West, Rod Stewart, Donna Summer, and poet laureate Robert Pinsky. She has performed in 46 US states and 14 European countries.
Bent is a pioneering cellist in Brazilian choro and widely recognized in Brazil as a master of the genre. She is in demand as a teacher and clinician in Brazil and the US, and she is on the faculty of Choro Camp New England. Bent is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music.
Clarice Cast is a Grammy nominated multi percussionist from São Paulo, Brazil. She earned a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and a Masters in World Percussion from the California Institute of the Arts. She currently teaches World Percussion at College of the Canyons is an active performer, recording artist,
and composer in Los Angeles, CA and is a regular clinician at colleges, universities, and percussion festivals, including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, California Brazil Camp, and Choro Camp New England. She is heavily influenced by her native Brazilian culture, and it has been her driving force to learn, perform, write, and teach these styles. Clarice proudly endorses Contemporânea Musical, Tycoon Percussion Instruments, TRX Cymbals, and Ahead Armor Cases.
Trio Brasileiro
Silvia Goes
Ami Mollineli