Evening in Brazil brings bossa nova to USU
Though the idea of summer travel may appear hopelessly distant to some, this weekend offers a trip to Brazil without leaving campus.
“Evening in Brazil” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the USU Performance Hall. The event will highlight various rhythms unique to the South American country, said Christopher Neale, professor of engineering and guitarist for the “Evening in Brazil” ensemble.
This year’s concert, like the three before it, will feature bossa nova, a form of jazz music unique to Brazilian culture. Friday’s performance will also incorporate the Humble Roots Capoeira group, “Baianas de Logan,” a female dance group, and guest percussionist Marcus Santos, Neale said.
During the second portion of the program, Santos, a native to the Bahia province of northeastern Brazil, will showcase the rhythms and percussions of his birthplace, Neale said.
Although final preparations occur just weeks before the show, planning for the event began months in advance, said Linda Ferreira Linford, a junior majoring in vocal performance who sings with the jazz ensemble.
“We started practicing at the beginning of spring semester,” she said.”(We’ve) had our setlist ideas (since) before Christmas.”
Linford said she was selected as the lead singer when “Evening in Brazil” began in 2009.
“We needed a female singer because bossa nova is a style that requires a nice, smooth voice. Linda is a vocal performance major, has Brazilian heritage and speaks Portuguese,” said Neale, also from Brazilian descent.
Because Linford is the only student in the ensemble, she said she had mixed feelings when she initially joined.
“At first I felt intimidated and very privileged, because they are some of the most talented musicians that I know,” she said. “I felt like the pressure was on, and I had to keep up. They have been so patient with me, and I’m so grateful they gave me the opportunity to do this.”
With Linford singing and Neale on guitar, the original ensemble consisted of two additional members: Michael Christiansen, director USU’s guitar studies program, and Eric Nelson, a middle school band teacher who plays saxophone and clarinet.
Then three more individuals joined the “Evening in Brazil” ensemble: Lars Yorgason, a freelance musician who plays the bass guitar, and percussionists Don Keipp, professor of music at Weber State University, and Jason Nicholson, USU percussion director.
Rehearsals for the event offered exposure to new music and new opportunities for performers as they worked with Santos, an expert in Bahian percussion and graduate from Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Christiansen said.
“Bahia’s uniqueness comes from strong African heritage – over 80 percent of our population is of African descent,” Santos said. “It is very common to become a drummer where I am from.”
In addition to showcasing the distinct Bahia beats at Friday’s show, Santos is working to establish an Afro-Brazilian percussion group in Cache Valley. Formation of the group is part of the Grooversity curriculum, a nationwide program that Santos began to educate community members and promote diversity, he said.
“By using drumming from my home town and applying different world rhythms, I created this fresh and original material that we are calling Grooversity – groove diversity,” Santos said. “We are using Brazilian drums in a Brazilian way but borrowing ideas from different countries.”
There are nine percussion groups in seven U.S. states using the Grooversity curriculum, and Santos said he looks forward to the growth of the USU percussion club, which will be led by Nicholson once Santos leaves.
Together, he said, they have actively worked to implement the program, preparing numerous students who will perform in Friday’s show.
“The students are like sponges here – they learn so fast,” Santos said. “I am really the one benefiting from all of this, because I’m having a ball with these guys.”
As the event approaches, Linford said she hopes the audience’s energy will reflect the various performers’ excitement.
“It’s a really interactive kind of show,” she said. “Just because the Performance Hall seems like a more formal setting does not mean that you have to just sit there. Get ready to be engaged.”
Tickets are available at the Caine College of the Arts Box Office on campus, online or at the door the night of the performance.
– drew.vandyke@aggiemail.usu.edu