What: Festival Brasileiro is a five-day festival of music of Brazil, including concerts of Brazilian classical, jazz and traditional music. The festival was organized by Trio Vientos Tejanos, made up of faculty members James Ryon, oboe; Kimberly Cole Luevano, clarinet; and Kathleen Reynolds, bassoon.

When: Tuesday, Sept. 24 to Saturday, Sept. 28

Where: Most events will be on the UNT campus at Voertman Hall, Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater and Winspear Hall, and live streamed at UNTMusicLive.com. A 9:30 p.m. concert Saturday, Sept. 28, will take place off campus at Sweetwater Bar and Grill, 115 S. Elm St., Denton

Cost: All concerts are free with the exception of the 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 Symphonic Band concert at Winspear Hall. It is free for UNT students with ID; $8 for seniors, non-UNT students, UNT faculty and staff; $10 for the public.

Contact: For a full list of events, visit music.unt.edu/spotlights/detail/115 or see schedule below. For more information, contact James Ryon at James.Ryon@unt.edu.

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DENTON, Texas (UNT) – During the Sept. 24-28 Festival Brasileiro at the University of North Texas, oboe professor James Ryon and other music faculty will share their passion for Brazilian music with the community through a series of faculty, student and guest artist concerts. Guests include composer/conductor/lecturer João Guilherme Ripper, a faculty wind quintet from the University of Brasilia, and jazz ensemble Trio Assum from the Federal University of Goiás

For Ryon, Brazilian music has been part of his life for decades. As a student, Ryon grew to admire the works of Brazil’s best-known composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos. A few years later, while researching music in Brazil, Ryon met up-and-coming composer João Guilherme Ripper, who has since made an international name for himself. Clarinet professor Kimberly Cole Luevano also developed an interest in Brazilian music when she met clarinetists from Goiania and Brasilia while performing in Brazil a few years ago.  Ryon and Luevano joined UNT two years ago and started Trio Vientos Tejanos with bassoon professor Kathleen Reynolds. Last year they started planning an exchange of music with fellow musicians in Brazil.

Festival Brasileiro will start that process when Ripper comes to visit UNT as a guest composer, conductor and lecturer, along with University of Brasilia faculty wind quintet Quinteto UnB and jazz ensemble Trio Assum. Trio Vientos Tejanos will continue the exchange when they visit Brazil for a series of concerts and master classes in Rio de Janeiro, Goianias and Brasilia Dec. 5-15.

“The festival and other exchanges give students, faculty and the general public the opportunity to discover more about the two largest nations in the Western Hemisphere and their distinctive cultures,” said Ryon.

Music on the festival program includes compositions by Villa-Lobos, Ripper, Walter Burle Marx and other Brazilian composers. There will be a special night of Brazilian jazz Sept. 28 at Sweetwater Bar and Grill in Denton featuring Trio Assum and Dallas-based band Brasuka, which has members from the College of Music faculty.

The exchange of musicians from Brazil and UNT is made possible in part by a grant from the Charn Uswachoke International Development Fund. College of Music faculty and students are also contributing their services to concerts, as are other guest artists, including pianist Anatolia Ioannides and Louisiana State University cello professor Dennis Parker.

Festival Brasileiro Schedule

Tuesday, Sept. 24

8 p.m. Voertman Hall in the College of Music Building, 415 S. Ave. C, Denton – Chamber Music of João Guilherme Ripper, featuring Trio Vientos Tejanos and Quinteto UnB with UNT College of Music faculty Carol Wilson, soprano; Julia Bushkova, violin; Susan Dubois and Daphne Gerling, viola; Nikola Ruzevic, cello; student Arsentiy Kharitonov, piano; alumna Gudrun Raschen, bass; and guest artists Dennis Parker, cello, and Anatolia Ioannides, piano.

• Pre-concert lecture by João Guilherme Ripper at 7:30 p.m.
• Free
• Concert will be live streamed at UNTMusicLive.com

Wednesday, Sept. 25

11 a.m. Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater in the Music Building, 415 S. Ave. C., Denton – Music Now lecture with João Guilherme Ripper

• Free

6:30 p.m. Voertman Hall in the College of Music Building, 415 S. Ave. C, Denton – Student Concert of Brazilian Piano and Chamber Music

• Free

Thursday, Sept. 26

7:30 p.m. Winspear Hall in the Murchison Performing Arts Center, 2100 N. I-35E, Denton – Symphonic Band performs João Guilherme Ripper - Chamber Symphony for Winds; Jose Urcisino da Silva - Suite Pernambucana de Bolso; Dennis Fisher, conductor

• Tickets: free for UNT students with ID, $8 for non-UNT students, seniors, UNT faculty and staff, $10 for public. Order tickets online or by calling 940-369-7802.
• Concert will be live streamed at UNTMusicLive.com

Friday, Sept. 27

8 p.m. Voertman Hall in the College of Music Building, 415 S. Ave. C, Denton – An Evening of Brazilian Chamber Music featuring Trio Vientos Tejanos and Quinteto UnB with flute professor Terri Sundberg and guest artist Dennis Parker on cello; performing the works of José Vieira Brandão, Walter Burles Marx, Heitor Villa-Lobos, João Guilherme Ripper, Sérgio Nogueira and Liduino Pitombeira

• Free
• Concert will be live streamed at UNTMusicLive.com

Saturday, Sept. 28
8 p.m. Voertman Hall in the College of Music Building, 415 S. Ave. C, Denton – An Evening of Brazilian Chamber Music with String Orchestra featuring cello professor Eugene Osadchy and the UNT Cello Choir with student soprano Jennifer Youngs; Trio Assum; chamber orchestra of UNT faculty, guests and students and Quinteto UnB.  Works include Bachianas Brasileiras #5 by Villa-Lobos, and From my window #2 and Concerto a Cinco by Ripper

• Free
• Concert will be live streamed at UNTMusicLive.com

9:30 p.m. Sweetwater Bar and Grill, 115 S. Elm St., Denton – Brazilian Jazz, featuring Brasuka and Trio Assum

• Free

About the UNT College of Music

The UNT College of Music is one of the largest and most respected comprehensive music schools in the country. More than 1,600 music students attend UNT each year, participating in more than 50 widely varied ensembles and pursuing specialized studies in performance, composition, music education or music scholarship. UNT faculty members and students have made appearances on the world’s finest stages and have produced numerous recordings, many receiving Grammy awards and nominations. Distinguished UNT alumni can be found around the globe, in top music ensembles, opera companies, universities and schools.