Choro & Samba with Stephen Paul Guerra (03.02.22)
Please join us at the Pardee School (121 Bay State Road) on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2 at 5 PM for a presentation by Stephen Paul Guerra.
Specializing in violão brasileiro (Brazilian guitar), Dr. Stephen Guerra is a band leader, accompanist, composer, arranger, and educator based in New York City. He performs at music clubs, cultural centers, universities, and guitar societies around the United States and has shared the stage with Rogério Souza, Duo Violão, Ami Molinelli, Tiago do Bandolim, Q Morrow, Regional de NY, Susanne Ortner, and Catherine Bent among others. For this event, Dr. Guerra will talk and play his way through the early history of the Brazilian samba, focusing on its connections with choro, Brazil’s own “classical” music.
In early 2020, Guerra’s classical-guitar project Duo Guerra/Morrow released its debut album Choro in the Time of Bossa Nova (available on Bandcamp), supported by an artist grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council. In October 2021, Mel Bay released his book 10 Brazilian Choros Arranged for Classical Guitar Solo. Currently, Stephen is realizing his latest project: composing, recording, and concertizing a new album of original Brazilian choros entitled Choro-Sambas de NY, which features Grant Ziolkowski on bandolim and Eduardo Belo on bass.
Stephen has a Ph.D. in music theory from Yale University. He has published various research articles about rhythm and meter in Latin-American African-diasporic music and has taught music at UMass Amherst, Northern Arizona University, Rutgers University, and Yale University. Stephen studied classical guitar with Allen Krantz in Philadelphia and Brazilian guitar with Rogério Souza in Rio de Janeiro.
The University is committed to promoting a safe campus environment. In accordance with current University safety protocols, cloth face coverings or disposable masks must be worn indoors at all times when not eating or drinking. Any participant with symptoms that could be related to COVID-19 should not engage in group activities and seek medical advice.