Fernando Brandão

Check my complete website at fernandobrandao.com
Award winner flutist, composer and author, Fernando Brandão has been equally involved with classical music and jazz throughout his career. Born in Rio de Janeiro and living in the United States since 1989, he has been teaching flute, ensembles, jazz improvisation, and chamber music at Berklee College of Music, Longy School of Music and the Community Music Center of Boston. He has performed in the most distinguished concert hall and clubs in the Boston area — Jordan Hall, Pickman Hall, Berklee Performance Center, Regattabar, Scullers and Ryles. In Brazil, Fernando has been performed in concerts at Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Teatro Carlos Gomes, Sala Guiomar Novaes, IBAM, Espaço Cultural Sérgio Porto, in Rio de Janeiro, and at Palácio das Artes, in Belo Horizonte.
He leads the Fernando Brandão Septet and he has been performing and recording with the groups led by Sergio Brandão, Teresa Inês, Nando Michelin and Bruno Råberg. His new unreleased CD, Samba pra Juju features original compositions and arrangements and had guests musicians Luciana Souza on vocals and Weber Iago on piano. He was the music director and arranger of the highly successful Brasileirinho group (Brazilian folk and contemporary) for six years, with performances in national and international festivals in Massachusetts and New Mexico. In 1998 he produced the ensemble’s CD Brazilian Spice with Luciana Souza as guest singer. He also led the band Bohemia Carioca (Brazilian choros, maxixes and ballroom dance sambas) and recorded and performed with several groups and musicians, including Toninho Horta, Bill Pierce, George Garzone, Marta Gomez, Pablo Ablanedo, Los Changos (Argentinean jazz), and Bambule (Latin), Altamiro Carrilho, Leni Andrade, Leandro Braga, the New World Guitar Trio, and in jazz festivals throughout New England. His composition “Procissão”, for 3 guitars, was premiered live on WGBH-FM and recorded by the New World Guitar Trio in their CD Exiled (2000).
As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in duo with pianist Maria Teresa Madeira throughout Brazil. He performed with performed with the most prominent Brazilian orchestras including the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, and the symphony orchestras from São Paulo, Campinas, Brasília, Minas Gerais and Curitiba.
In the United States he has performed solo flute with the New England Conservatory and Longy School of Music orchestras. With Boston’s local Emmanuel Music Orchestra, with which he has been playing since 1996, he has performed under music director Craig Smith and guest conductor Seiji Ozawa. They have recorded the St. Matthew Passion (released by Koch) in 2000 and the Mozart Piano Concertos in Dm and Cm with Russell Sherman as a soloist, in 2002.
Fernando is the author of the improvisational etude series Brazilian and Afro-Cuban Jazz Conception, published in 2006 by the prominent German company Advance Music. The books are available for 8 different instruments, include a play-along CD, and features fifteen original tunes in various Brazilian and Afro-Cuban styles. This edition clearly aims at being more than a simple play-along collection. For each of the tunes a thorough analysis and additional exercises are given. An extensive introduction into the various styles and rhythms of Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music is also included. The rhythm section and soloists are among the most prestigious musicians in contemporary Brazilian music.
Rhythm Section: Leandro Braga - piano, Adriano Giffoni - bass, Xande Figueiredo - drums, Zero - percussion.
Soloists: Fernando Brandão – flute, Paulo Sergio Santos – clarinet, José Canuto – alto sax, Humberto Araújo – tenor sax, Jessé Sadoc – trumpet, Sergio de Jesus – trombone, Leandro Braga – piano, Zé Paulo Becker - guitar
He has also written an exercise book with scales for beginners and had an article about choro published by the Greater Boston Flute Association newsletter in 1993.
Mr. Brandão has taken part in several national and international festivals in Brazil and the United States, including the Green Bay Jazz Society series at the University of Wiconsin, Festival Villa-Lobos, Bienal de Música Contemporânea, National Repertory Orchestra Festival in Colorado, White Mountains Jazz and Blues Festival in New Hampshire, Artes de las Americas Festival in New Mexico, The 1st Upstate New York Jazz Festival, and in Boston, Schubert Festival, Music of Latin America Festival, First Night of Boston and the 21st National Flute Association Convention. He has performed live at WGBH-FM (Chamberworks, Classics in the Morning and Eric in the Evening), WERS-FM (Coração Brasileiro, Gyroscope and Terra Brazilis), WBUR-FM (Here and Now and The World), WMBR-FM and WMFO-FM (Brazilian Style of Music).
In 1996 he joined Berklee College of Music as an Assistant Professor where he teaches flute, Jazz and Brazilian music ensembles, jazz improvisation and three courses he created: “Brazilian Musical Styles”, “Brazilian and Latin Flute Lab” and “Practice Routines for Flute”. He also teaches at Longy School of Music (ensembles, improvisation chamber music), and at the Community Music Center of Boston (flute). He has been a guest teacher and lecturer at New England Conservatory, Northeastern University, New Mexico University, and in Brazil, at UNIRIO and Conservatório Brasileiro de Música. With the group Brasileirinho he performed educational concerts throughout Massachusetts for several years.
Mr. Brandão is a prizewinner of several competitions in Brazil, including the Brazilian Young Concert Artists in 1986 and 1987, Espírito Santo Symphony Orchestra Soloists in 1986 and the Brazilian Music National Competition, in 1984. In Boston he won first prize in the 1991 Pappoutsakis Flute Competition.
He is a graduate from New England Conservatory (MM), Longy School of Music, (Artist Diploma - Outstanding Performer Award), and from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (BM). His teachers include Fenwick Smith, Chris Krueger, John Heiss, Celso Woltzenlogel, H. J. Koelreutter and Irany Leme. He has performed in master classes for Jeanne Baxtresser, Carol Wincenc, Trevor Wye, Alain Marion and Samuel Baron. He studied jazz improvisation with Charlie Banacos and Hal Crook.