The Berkeley Choro Ensemble (pronounced "shoro"), is a group of world-class musicians from the SF Bay Area that made its debut in January, 2010. The group celebrates the music, culture and history of Brazil, with a special emphasis on the Choro genre, a style of music which emerged in the 1800's in Brazil, fusing the music of Brazil's European immigrants and the native music of Brazil's indigenous and African-Brazilian population. In particular, the choro sound is somewhat akin to a combination of European classical music, ragtime, and blues.
Historically, the choro style influenced Brazil's most famous classical composer, Heitor Villa Lobos, to compose some of the world's most hauntingly beautiful music, the Bachianas Brasileiras. Our repertoire also includes samba, bossa nova, jazz, and the music of Northeast Brazil.
For this concert, core members Jane Lenoir on flute, Ricardo Peixoto on 7-string guitar, and Brian Rice on pandeiro will be joined by internationally acclaimed guitarist and composer Alessandro Penezzi of Sao Paulo, who is on the faculty of California Brazil Camp in Cazadero for two weeks in August, as well as TBA Brazilian guests. The ensemble will perform Brazilian choro compositions by Brazilian composers, as well as some original compositions by their members Harvey Wainapel and Ricardo Peixoto.
The concert will be performed live and in-person, with live-stream and on-demand options. Full covid vaccination is required to attend, as well as a KN95, N95, or double mask, worn properly throughout the show.
$15-$25.