About the
Project
“Eight Brazilian Genre Studies for Solo Trumpet” explores Brazil’s vernacular music. In collaboration with four Brazilian composers, I fostered the commission of solo trumpet studies that evoke Brazil’s musical heritage. In addition, a brief historical context of Brazil’s vernacular music is included to help readers deepen their knowledge of the addressed genres. The historical overview covers a brief period in Brazil’s music history, analyzing the social transformations from the beginning of the 18th century and their impact on Brazil’s vernacular music. Lastly, a recording of the studies and musical examples are included to illustrate the character of the investigated genres. Given the oral tradition of Brazil’s vernacular music, these resources provide learners with references for stylistic performance practices, which cannot be represented in Western musical notation.
The study of music in higher education is still predominantly based on European classical tradition, prioritizing the study of classical music over vernacular music. For instance, the standard literature of studies, methods books, and solos pieces is mostly written by classical composers, in contrast with very few pieces of literature composed by underrepresented composers. Fortunately, this scenario has been changing with the increased interest of researchers in studying vernacular music. This change is opening doors to underrepresented musicians, composers, and scholars, bringing it to the forefront and recognizing the relevance of vernacular music in higher education, greatly contributing to the education of new generations of musicians. As a result, its study his becoming an integral part of the academic curriculum. However, there is still a significant gap in the literature supporting this much-needed change. The “Eight Brazilian Genre Studies for Solo Trumpet” project aims to contribute to the closing of this gap.
Examining Brazil’s diverse musical culture in its continental territory and considering the trumpet’s presence in many vernacular music genres, I expected to find many studies for trumpet addressing the attributes of Brazilian vernacular music. However, my research revealed that only six publications addressed the theme: five dissertations focusing on analysis and performance practices applied to the existing literature of studies, and one project offering a catalog of the existing studies for trumpet. The latter, a survey coordinated by Jose Vitor Souza in 26 universities in Brazil, lists only 16 trumpet studies written by Brazilian composers, a minimal number compared to thousands written by Western classical composers. Furthermore, of the Brazilian studies listed in the catalog, only Fernando Morais’ 12 Estudos Bem Humorados explicitly uses elements characteristic of Brazilian vernacular music. [1]
The “Eight Brazilian Genre Studies for Solo Trumpet” aspires to promote Brazilian music in academic settings by creating new literature and enabling classically trained musicians to discover, maintain, and participate in the further development of Brazil’s musical heritage.
Notes:
[1] José Vitor Souza, “Estudos Brasileiros para Trompete: Catalogação e análise de emprego nos cursos superiores de trompete no Brasil” (bachelor’s thesis, Universidade do Estado de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, 2020), 26-27.
About the
Commissions
The project “Eight Brazilian Genre Studies for Solo Trumpet”, presents 1) the commission of studies for solo trumpet, 2) research on the genres selected by the commissioned composers, 3) the recording of these studies performed by the author of this project, and 4) a website page presenting the research outcomes, which also include a playlist with music examples and sheet music scores available for download.
The project was developed during the 2021-2022 academic year and presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The project's timeframe was divided into two segments: the commission and research of the genres, conducted during the Fall and Spring semesters; and the recording of the studies, website development, and completion of the research’s written segment completed during the Spring and Summer semesters.
The composers invited to collaborate on this project were Fernando Deddos, Gilberto Eloízio, Weberton Figueiredo, and William Alves. I commissioned them to write approximately 10 to 15 minutes of music reflecting on their experiences with Brazilian vernacular music, and portraying musical elements characteristic of each genre of their choice. Conceived as a pedagogical tool to explore the genre characteristics, the studies are also excellent pieces to include in recitals, juries, and other performance opportunities. They can be played separately as a solo piece or grouped as a suite. In addition, a survey was conducted to collect information about the composer’s relationship with the genres, references for music examples, and information to be included on the website, such as contact, biography, and headshot.
The written segment of the project focused on Brazil’s social history, emphasizing the social transformation at the beginning of the 18th century. I discussed the rise of the first urban centers in Brazil and their influences on developing vernacular music. My goal was to acknowledge Brazilian music heritage by addressing the impacts of the exchange among different social groups, particularly marginalized groups. In addition, I investigated each genre to illustrate the social environments in which they emerged and pointed out characteristic elements of its performance practices.
In addition, the project is presented as a website platform accessible on computers and smartphones. This format provides an interactive and immersive environment enabling easy access to the research outcomes, recordings, and listening examples. Finally, I want to thank the composers for allowing me to provide free access to the sheet music of their compositions.
Relationship to each
Composer
The composers invited were musicians whom I greatly esteem. Aside from Fernando Deddos, all were colleagues I came to know during my musical trajectory. They are educators and performers committed to the advancement and acknowledgement of Brazilian music heritage.
Weberton Figueiredo is the founding member and conductor of the wind band where I began my musical studies. His musical career reflects the tradition of bandas de música, wind bands typical of Brazil. Figueiredo wrote a study based on dobrado, the musical genre that best represents this musical tradition.
William Alves and I were classmates in college, and founding members of a trumpet quintet created to explore Brazilian music. Alves investigates and advocates for the importance of the Afro-Brazilian music of Minas Gerais. He wrote two studies based on songs of Afro-Brazilian religions: a study in vassi and moçambique, representing the rhythms of the Candomblé and Congada, respectively.
I also met Gilberto Eloízio in college. He developed several projects with Brazilian vernacular music, particularly choro and samba de gafieira. Eloísio wrote three studies based on genres commonly played in rodas de choro: polca, valsa, and maxixe.
Finally, I met Fernando Deddos through one of his solo pieces entitled Rabecando. The piece depicts the characteristics of the rabeca, an instrument predecessor of the violin played in vernacular and religious manifestations during Brazil's colonization and still used in vernacular music in Brazil. I invited Deddos to write a study on genres typical to his home state. As a result, he wrote a study based on two different genres popular in the south of Brazil, chamamé and milonga.
About the
Composers
Fernando Deddos
Fernando Deddos is an internationally known composer, euphoniumist, and professor. Since 2016, he has been an associate professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte State in Natal, Brazil. As a euphoniumist, pianist, conductor, and composer, Deddos actively took part in interdisciplinary chamber music and Brazilian popular music projects and recorded the first euphonium album in Brazil, EuFonium Brasileiro (2009), which received the International Tuba and Euphonium Association’s Roger Bobo Award for excellence in recording (Arizona, 2010). In addition, for ten consecutive years, Deddos has been a faculty member of the SESC International Music Festival in Pelotas, Brazil, and is a guest artist/professor with symphonic groups and international festivals/conferences, including the ITEC, Trombonanza Argentina, SliderAsia Hong Kong, and Gravíssimo! in Portugal. He has also taken part in the IET (US), the Euphonium Festival in Colombia, Urubrass in Uruguay, and International Brass Festival in Tatuí Conservatory (Brazil). Deddos earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Conducting and Composition from Paraná State School of Music and Fine Arts, a master’s degree from Duquesne University, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Georgia. His primary mentors include Silvio Spolaore, Harry Crowl (composition), Lance Laduke, and David Zerkel.
Gilberto Eloízio
Gilberto Eloizio was born in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and at the age of ten, he began his musical studies under the guidance of his grandfather, Otto Paulo Guedes. Like his grandfather, he learned music in the gatherings of amateur musicians, who met weekly at his home to play choro. Eloizio earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He studied interpretive practices of choro with Professor Marcos Flávio. During his undergraduate studies, he joined the group “Senta a Pua,” emphasizing choro de gafieira in which, under the direction of composer/arranger/multi-instrumentalist Eduardo Neves, he recorded the CD entitled Baile. In addition, two of his compositions were recorded on a CD entitled Solos. Eloizio recorded the solo line of Nivaldo no Choro by Severino Araújo with the Geraes Big Band, in addition to working as an arranger and trumpeter on the CD Cinco Gerações with the same group. Currently, Eloizio is a member of the Marine Corps of the Navy in Rio de Janeiro.
Weberton Figueiredo
Weberton Altair Figueiredo, born in Lavras, Minas Gerais, began his musical studies with the wind band São Sebastião in the Macuco de Minas. He had his first lessons with Cirilo Messias, retired lieutenant of the military police of the State of Minas Gerais. At the age of 15, Figueiredo joined the Padre José Maria Xavier Conservatory of Music in São João del Rei. During this period, he dedicated himself to the studies of conducting and saxophone performance. He became the conductor of the wind band São Sebastião in 2003, and in 2005 created the wind band, Banda Municipal José Pontes de Oliveira Junior, in Itutinga. Figueiredo also founded the wind band Amélia Laudelina in the Rosário do Rio Grande. He earned a certificate from the Coltec UFMG and currently studies music education at the Centro Universitário do Sul de Minas.
William Alves
William Alves was born in Malacacheta, Minas Gerais. He began his musical studies under the guidance of his father, Valdivino Alves, with the wind band Leopoldino Gandra Philharmonic. During his undergraduate studies at the Federal University of Minas Gerais he was part of the Symphony Orchestra and Geraes Big Band. He also acted as trumpeter, arranger, and composer of the groups Uai Brass Trumpet Quintet and Grupo Instrumental Uzoito, and also worked as a trumpeter and teacher of the PRONATEC Symphonic Band, a project of the School of Music in Belo Horizonte. In 2015, he was a semi-finalist for the BDMG Instrumental Award, and in 2017 he was one of the winners of the same award, which gave him the opportunity to perform his instrumental show at Instrumental Sesc Brasil in São Paulo, at SESC Consolação, with the special participation of the musician Eduardo Neves. Alves earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
About the
Project's Author
Gilson Da Silva
Gilson Da Silva is a native of Itutinga, Brazil. He is a passionate educator and loves collaborating in chamber music settings. While earning his DMA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Gilson served the Mead Witter School of Music as a Teaching Assistant performing with the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, a faculty ensemble-in-residence whose players have been members of Seraph Brass, Empire Brass Quintet, and Meridian Arts Ensemble. Prior to UW-Madison, Gilson graduated with a master’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of North Dakota, under the guidance of Dr. Ronnie Ingle. Gilson also holds a degree in trumpet performance from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. During his undergraduate studies, he had the opportunity to participate in a study abroad program at the School of Music and Performing Arts in Porto, Portugal, studying with Professor Kevin Waldron.
Further
Considerations
In the project “Eight Brazilian Genre Studies for Solo Trumpet”, I sought to investigate the development of vernacular music in Brazil and promote new literature that supports its study. The project also fulfills my endeavors to acknowledge Brazilian music heritage and its importance in promoting diversity in academic settings.
There is still a significant gap in the literature that supports the study of Brazilian vernacular music in higher education. Vernacular music’s oral tradition partially explains this void: music notation, after all, can provide only an approximation of the nuances of orally (and aurally) transmitted musics. As a result, the literature derived from this tradition is often difficult to access and reproduce outside the boundaries of its context.
The lack of Brazilian vernacular music in higher education is also a consequence of a conservative system that still prioritizes the canonical literature of the Western classical tradition. In this context, the project aims to provide a much-needed representation of vernacular music in academic settings and promote a discussion of the importance of marginalized genres and their agents in the history of Brazilian music today.
It is necessary to point out that the project did not aim to provide a comprehensive literature review on the subjects investigated. Nonetheless, a substantial body of literature was consulted and significantly contributed to the project’s purpose of outlining each genre’s social history and musical characteristics. An in-depth reading of the literature referenced is recommended for further examination of the genres.
Considering the project’s continuance, I plan to expand the scope of the research by promoting new commissions and investigating new musical genres. This expansion will continue to open space to underrepresented composers, particularly women and Black composers, committed to contributing to the acknowledgment and advancement of Brazilian music. In addition, it is necessary to highlight that the project’s financial constraints limited the possibility of collaborating with acclaimed composers. Moving forward, grant proposals and other ways to subsidize the commission is essential to avoid the financial limitations found in this initial project phase.
Hopefully, by continuing this kind of research, we will be able to teach new generations of students to think and perform vernacular music with acknowledgment to its social history and social groups.
Eight Brazilian Genre Studies for Solo Trumpet
by Gilson Da Silva
This project is presented in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Trumpet Performance at the
University of Wisconsin - Madison