About Me
MARCO PEREIRA was born in Sao Paulo and got classical guitar lessons with the uruguayan master Isaias Savio and music theory lessons at the Music and Drama Conservatory of Sao Paulo.
He lived in France for five years and received a classical guitar master's degree in performance from the Universite Musicale Internationale de Paris, and a master's degree in Musicology from Paris-Sorbonne University with his thesis "Heitor Villa-Lobos and his guitar work" (Editora Musimed – BrasÃlia – Brasil).
In Paris, he was strongly influenced by jazz and Latin-American music which characterizes his compositional work, added to Brazilian styles. He performed with great success at 9eme Festival de Jazz de Paris that allowed him to perform in Germany, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Austria, Canada and the United States.
In Spain, he won two awards in important international guitar competitions: Concurso Andres Segovia (Palma de Mallorca) and Concurso Francisco Tarrega (Valencia).
Returning to Brazil, Marco settled in Brasilia after he was invited by UnB (University of Brasilia) to establish the courses of Classical Guitar and Functional Harmony.
He recorded two albums for the label Som da Gente: Violao Popular Brasileiro Contemporaneo – 1985 - and Circulo das Cordas – 1987 - which were presented in The Town Hall in New York, in 1988.
Starting in 1990, and already living in Rio de Janeiro, Marco took part in the Free Jazz Festival in four instances: in a memorable performance with Trio D'Alma in 1989; with his own work in 1991; with Wagner Tiso in 1992, and with Edu Lobo in 1996. He recorded with many prominent artists in the Brazilian musical scenario, such as, Zelia Duncan, Edu Lobo, Cassia Eller, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Wagner Tiso, Daniela Mercury, Zizi Possi, Rildo Hora, Paulinho da Viola, Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Leila Pinheiro, Fatima Guedes, Nelson Goncalves and Roberto Carlos amongst others.
Marco received the important Sharp Award in two different editions: as Best Arranger (1993) for Gal Costa's album and as Best Soloist and Best Album of the Year (1994) for Bons Encontros with the pianist Cristovao Bastos.
Currently, he a professor in the Composition Departament at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). His compositions were issued by the publisher Editions Lemoine - Paris, France - and GSP (Guitar Solo Publications) - San Francisco, CA, USA - and have been played and recorded by important guitarists all around the world.
In 1995, Marco released three albums: Dança dos Quatro Ventos for the Belgian label GHA; Elegia for Channel Classics of The Netherlands; and Brasil Musical for the Brazilian label Tom Brasil.
In 1999, Marco released his solo album Valsas Brasileiras with an exquisite repertoire of the modern Brazilian popular waltzes. In 2001 he released the album Luz das Cordas recorded with the mandolin player Hamilton de Holanda.
In 2004 he recorded two different albums: Original – GSP (Guitar Solo Publications - San Francisco, CA – www.gspguitar.com ) with his own compositions for solo guitar, and O samba da minha terra – Independent – with new arrangements and compositions for guitar, bass, drums and percussion.
Currently, he a professor in the Composition Departament at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). His compositions were issued by the publisher Éditions Lemoine - Paris, France - and GSP (Guitar Solo Publications) - San Francisco, CA, USA - and have been played and recorded by important guitarists all around the world.
He has two CDs released in Europe: Stella del Matino (EGEA – Perugia – Italy) and Essence (Kind of Blue – Lugano – Switzerland).
His last releases are the album CamerÃstico for guitar and orchestra with his own compostions and arrangements as well as the book+CD about Brazilian Rhythms for Guitar.
