by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Sep 14, 2024
Explore the imaginative and intriguing melodies of Brazilian choro with an evening celebrating the genre’s most influential composer, Alfredo da Rocha Viana Filho, also known as Pixinguinha. Alongside a remarkable guest ensemble, faculty member Ceylon Mitchell guides us through this Afro-Brazilian genre as we sample some of the most famous choros composed by Pixinguinha and his contemporaries.
Location: Levine Music DC Campus: NW + Online
Free for Levine Students
About Brazilian Choro
Choro emerged as a distinct musical genre around the middle of the 19th Century in Rio de Janeiro as a blend of Afrodiasporic and European musical styles in newly independent Brazil. Syncopated rhythms from Africa and popular dance forms from Europe (the polka, habanera, and more) melded together to create a unique new style, which often gives the lead and highly ornamented melody to the flute, harmonically supported by guitar and cavaquinho. Percussive accompaniment often comes from the pandeiro, a Brazilian frame drum similar to a tambourine. Though choros are frequently instrumental and improvisatory, they do feature lyrics from time to time.
- Ceylon Mitchell, flute
- Seth Kibel, sax
- Pablo Regis de Oliveira, cavaquinho
- Felipe Garibaldi, guitar
- Lucas Ashby, percussion
- André Coelho, percussion
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Aug 15, 2024
Dr. Ceylon Mitchell (flute) and Dr. Felipe Garibaldi (guitar) perform duo works by Brazilian composers, including Clarice Assad, a Grammy nominated composer renowned for her evocative colors, rich textures, and diverse stylistic range. “Tríptico (Triptych)” is a three-movement suite inspired by popular Brazilian rhythmic concepts such as frevo, choro, and canção. “As Cores de Tomie” is a collection of four songs inspired by works and concepts of Japanese-Brazilian artist Tomie Ohtake (1913-2015).
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Jan 21, 2024
On Saturday, February 17th at 11:00 AM, Dr. Ceylon Mitchell (flute) and Dr. Felipe Garibaldi (guitar) perform duo works by Brazilian American Clarice Assad, a Grammy nominated composer renowned for her evocative colors, rich textures, and diverse stylistic range. “Tríptico (Triptych)” is a three-movement suite inspired by popular Brazilian rhythmic concepts such as frevo, choro, and canção. “As Cores de Tomie” is a collection of four songs inspired by works and concepts of Japanese-Brazilian artist Tomie Ohtake (1913-2015).
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Oct 4, 2021
Ceylon Mitchell, Flute: DMA Recital from The Clarice on Vimeo.
Ceylon Mitchell II, a DMA flute student with Dr. Sarah Frisof, performs works by the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. Featuring traditional tonality and Baroque era forms, avant-garde and aleatoric techniques, and Afro-Cuban strains, the program selections span Brouwer’s three stages of composition and represent his eclectic sound universe. Throughout his output, his music is a kind of musical cartography and allegory of Latin America, with its most emblematic landscapes, characters and cultures. Passages with controlled indeterminacy and extended techniques in the musical forces (flute, guitar, and piano) create fascinating textures and colorful soundscapes connected to ancient and modern Latin American literature and culture.
PROGRAM
Sonata Para Flauta Sola (1960)
-Preludio
-Tonada
-Pequeña Toccata
Sonata Mitologia De Las Aguas No.1 (2009)
-Nacimiento del Amazonas
-El Lago escondido de los Mayas
*Cristian Perez, guitar
Leo Brouwer: La Region Mas Transparente (1982)
*Alex Kostadinov, piano
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Oct 3, 2021
An Arts Integration program of Latin music. The ensemble includes Fran Vielma on percussion, Taisha Estrada on vocals, and Eliot Seppa on guitar.
