Alessandro Penezzi, guitar, and Berkeley Choro Ensemble

Calliope is thrilled to host the return peformance of Alessandro Penezzi, considered one of the great Brazilian guitarists of his generation, as he joins his colleagues in the exemplary local Brazilian choro performing ensemble Berkeley Choro for a rousing celebration of beautiful music!

With Alessandro Penezzi, guitar; Jane Lenoir, flute; Harvey Wainapel, clarinet; Ricardo Peixoto, guitar and Brian Rice, pandeiro.

About Alessandro Penezzi: Considered one of the great Brazilian guitarists of his generation, composer, arranger and guitarist Alessandro Penezzi was born in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil in February, 1974. He began his musical studies at seven years old. A multiinstrumentalist, Alessandro plays 7-string guitar, tenor guitar, cavaquinho, mandolin and flute. His teachers were Carlos Coimbra, Jair T. de Paula, Sérgio Belluco, and João Dias Carrasqueira. Alessandro has recorded over 20 CD's of music, and has performed with many of the great Brazilians musicians, including Yamandú Costa, Carlos Poyares, Toninho Ferragutti, Oswaldinho do Acordeon, Laércio de Freitas, Caíto Marcondes, Arismar do Espírito Santo, Maurício Carrilho, Pedro Amorim, Joel Nascimento, Conjunto Epoque de Ouro, Rogério Caetano, Caio Marcio, Alexandre Ribeiro and Nailor Proveta. He has taught at California Brazil Camp since 2010, and is building a following in the US as one of the great virtuosos and composers in the Brazilian Popular Music genre in the world today. He resides in São Paulo, and tours regularly to Europe and Africa.

About Berkeley Choro Ensemble: http://www.berkeleychoroensemble.com

“The Berkeley Choro Ensemble is one of the few groups playing outside Brazil that has the deepest understanding of what it means to play a ‘chorinho.’ Proof of this is all over their disc, with ten astounding pieces.”

–World Music Report, April, 2018

Choro, the first uniquely Brazilian popular music and the root of samba and bossa nova, has its origins in the late 1800s. The genre, a captivating blend of European salon and chamber music with Afro-Brazilian rhythmic energy and a touch of jazz, is still being renewed and updated, and is spreading internationally at a very healthy pace. The Berkeley Choro Ensemble, formed in 2010, has dedicated itself to the performance of modern choro compositions and collaborations with renowned Brazilian performers and composers. The new CD is a reflection of what is happening today in the world of choro. The Ensemble has been actively promoting the advancement of this great genre via performances, workshops, and the annual Berkeley Festival of Choro.

Artist Profiles:

From a family of professional musicians, Berkeley resident, flutist Jane Lenoir, grew up in Tampa, Florida, and left home at 15 as a scholarship student to the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and then to Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A performer comfortable in many diverse styles, Jane appears regularly as a soloist, chamber player, orchestral musician, baroque flutist, and jazz performer. A founder of Berkeley Choro Ensemble and Berkeley Festival of Choro, Jane is particularly interested in Latin flute styles, which celebrate the instrument’s ancient, rich history , virtuosity, and lyrical sound. Her 2017 CD, Jane Lenoir plays Penezzi, celebrated the São Paulo guitarist/composer’s compositions to critical acclaim. As an educator, she is flute coach at Young People’s Symphony and teaches privately in Berkeley. She is a Powell Flutes Artist and presents workshops and classes on Brazilian choro frequently to local flute clubs, schools, and professional organizations.

Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Berkeley resident, Harvey Wainapel, has forged a well-earned reputation as one of the foremost artists in Brazilian styles in the US today. Trained as a jazz saxophonist and celebrated for his numerous recordings in the jazz idiom, Harvey has spent many years touring and studying in Brazil with the leading musicians of the day, including Airto and Flora Purim, ..... His 2006 CD, Amigos Brasileiros, received rave reviews as a testament to the history of Brazilian styles of music. With over 40 Brazilian musicians represented on the CD, it was a musical odyssey and labor of love. In 2014, Amigos Brasileiros Volume 2 came out to rave reviews. Harvey has done extensive arrangements for the group over the years, and in 2021 the group premiered an entirely new repertoire on contemporary Brazilian choro compositions. He wrote extensive program notes for our online festival during covid, A Celebration of Women in Brazilian Music.

Originally from Rio de Janeiro and based in the Bay Area, Oakland resident, guitarist/composer Ricardo Peixoto is among the top representatives of Brazilian guitar in the US, with a fluid melodic style and a keen compositional sense. His performances explore Brazil’s rich and diverse traditions, both in his original work as well as in arrangements of Brazilian classics. His approach is grounded both in the jazz and Brazilian music traditions, but always ventures well beyond their borders, combining rich melodies, sophisticated harmonies, and the unmistakable rhythms of Brazil.

Ricardo came to the US on a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music in Boston, and later continued his studies in classical guitar at the SF Conservatory of Music.He has recorded, performed, and collaborated with, among others, Claudia Villela, Flora Purim and Airto, saxophonist Bud Shank, percussionist Dom Um Romão, Toots Thielemans, Dori Caymmi, Guinga, guitarist Carlos Oliveira, Harvey Wainapel, Marcos Silva and Terra Sul. He has performed throughout the US, Europe, Canada, Japan and Brazil. He has taught an ongoing class in choro at CJC for several years now, educating a new audience to choro and Brazilian music.

Oakland resident percussionist Brian Rice graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy and Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a B.M. in Percussion Performance and Ethnomusicology. A faculty member at UC Berkeley and UC Davis in latin percussion styles, Brian is a highly acclaimed performer, educator and recording artist adept at numerous musical styles ranging from classical and jazz, to Latin, Afro-Cuban, and Brazilian, to contemporary and experimental music. Brian's study of the Brazilian pandeiro began in 1986 when the Sao Paulo State University percussion ensemble visited Oberlin and percussionist/composer Carlos Stasi, then a student at SPSU, gave Brian a quick pandeiro lesson after the concert. Since then Brian's obsession with the pandeiro has led him to study with Guello, Marcos Suzano, Airto, Claudio Bueno and Clarice Magalhaes, and his prowess on the instrument has led him to perform with numerous Brazilian artists including, Jovino Santos Neto, Paulo Sergio Santos, Danilo Brito, Dudu Maia and Jorge Alabe. It was studies with Marcos Suzano that inspired Brian to expand his use of the pandeiro outside the Brazilian music world and apply it to Balkan, Celtic, Middle Eastern, Spanish, and Cuban music with great effect.

Join us in person, by live-stream, OR on-demand! (For on-demand viewing, simply purchase a live-stream only ticket, and then watch the recording at your leisure anytime in the following two weeks.)

WE GUARANTEE ALL OF OUR PERFORMERS A MINIMUM FAIR WAGE - thanks to support from people like you!

COVID Safety Protocols:

• Masking is encouraged as an individual choice; this protects everyone from the spread of viruses. Masks will be readily available to those who want one.
• Up-to-date immunizations (including flu, COVID, pneumonia and RSV) are strongly encouraged.
• Hand sanitizer will be available, and is encouraged.
• Whenever weather permits, we will ventilate our spaces to the maximum degree possible, and employ the use of air purifiers.
• If you have tested positive for COVID, or feel at all unwell, we urge you in the strongest possible way to stay home.

Very best,

Calliope: East Bay Music & Arts Board of Directors