Members

Claudio Dauelsberg

CLAUDIO DAUELSBERG has achieved great prominence on the Brazilian Instrumental Music Scene. He has an energetic personality, is always seeking innovation and is constantly in demand as a pianist, arranger and composer.
Dauelsberg develops his work in Brazilian Jazz exploring typical Brazilian rhythms such as choro, maracatu, afoxé, coco, samba and bossa nova, branding them with his own music personality. Also specialized in Bach, he is considered one of the most successful Brazilian musicians to work with both popular and classical music. He does so with depth and authority, calling on interpretation and improvisation skills.
He has worked alongside such great names as Plácido Domingo, Bob Mintzer, Bireli Lagrene, Toots Thielemans, Chick Corea, Márcio Montarroyos, Hermeto Pascoal, Robertinho Silva, Nico Assumpção, Arthur Maia, Carlos Bala, Marcos Suzano, Jacques Morelembaum, Toninho Horta and numerous other well-known Brazilian Popular Music (MPB) musicians. He has also performed in several important venues and festivals such as Montreux Jazz Festival, Nordland Musikkfestuke, Planke Jazz Festival, Jazz Vaka Festival, Vestfold International Festival, Aarhus International Jazz Festival, Sofia Jazz Festival, Tchaikovsky Hall, among many others.
As an artist always working on the cutting edge, Claudio has promoted important movements in the area of Brazilian jazz music. In his latest project, PianOrquestra, Claudio Dauelsberg explores Brazilian ethnic roots and elements making the piano, played by the 10 hands of 5 musicians simultaneously, into a unique orchestra.
His performances feature great technical prowess and musical refinement. He often performs in trios and offers different types of shows, including solo, duo, quartet and Big Band ensembles, in addition to performances with percussion groups.
Claudio Dauelsberg is a first-rate musician within Brazilian Jazz Music with great jazz improvisation skills, and also composing and arranging, and simultaneously participating in erudite concerts, specializing in Bach, and achieving performance excellence that few have reached in these two areas. He unites high-quality jazz and erudite performance in addition to composing and arranging.
Piano Performance Master by UFRJ, where he defended the thesis The Practice of Improvisation in the Interpreter’s Musical Education, Claudio is currently working on his PhD at UNIRIO, where he is a professor.

Gisele Sant’Ana

Gisele Sant’Ana graduated in Piano at the Escola de Música da UFRJ in 2002, and in Organ at the same institution in 2006. She is currently concluding her Master’s degree in Organ at UNESP, where she is conducting a research on the organs of Rio de Janeiro. She has participated in master classes with well known musicians such as Neil Fialkow, Julia Brown and Baraba Baird, amongst others. Gisele is an active solo interpreter and accompanying pianist in the Brazilian musical scene. As an organist, she has realized innumerous recitals in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

 

 

Masako Tanaka

Born in Kobe, Japan, Masako Tanaka fell in love with samba and choro in her home country, where she created the samba group Telecoteco, playing popular Brazilian composers such as Cartola, Wilson Batista, Ataulfo Alves, Noel Rosa, Chico Buarque, Zé Keti, and others. In 2001 she came to Brazil for the first time to study Portuguese and Brazilian rhythms. Since then, Masako has played percussion with Monobloco and the group Levadas, a female percussion group directed by drummer Robertinho Silva. The group plays regularly in Rio de Janeiro, and participated in the Tim Festival in 2003. Masako also played with Batucadas Brasileiras, Robertinho Silva’s percussion orquestra, and Mulheres de Chico, another all-female percussion group from Rio de Janeiro. Besides PianOrquestra, Masako currently plays with Luciana Colo and Ziriguidum, singing samba, baião and other typical Brazilian rhythms. In 2005 she was co-creater of the group Sushi na Brasa, specialized in samba roots and traditional choro. Besides Brazilian music, Masako also sings traditional Japanese music.

Marina Spoladore

Marina Spoladore, pianist born in Paraná, stands out among the new generation of Brazilian pianists. Owner of more than 30 awards in both national and international competitions, Marina has studied piano in the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, in Germany, besides her high quality musical education in Brazil.
Marina is often invited to perform in the most important concert halls in the country, such as Sala Cecilia Meireles, Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Canal da Música, Auditório Claudio Santoro, among others, and has received great praise from specialized critics thanks to her performances in Brazilian contemporary music events, such as the Bienal de Música Contemporâanea do Rio de Janeiro.
Her studies are oriented by Luiz Senise, with whom she concluded her bachelor’s course in piano at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro – UFRJ. She is now a graduate student at UNIRIO, with professor Carlos Alberto Figueiredo.

Maíra Freitas

Maíra Freitas began her studies in piano at age 7. Daughter of popular brazilian singer and composer Martinho da Vila, and student of Maria Teresa Madeira and Luis Moura de Castro, Maíra has always been in contact with both popular and classical brazilian music. She frequently participates in festivals, courses and master classes with pianists like Sergio Monteiro, Luis Senise, Sergei Dorensky, Roberto Bravo, Michel Dalberto, Sergei Duchachov, Stefan Meylaers, Gregor Vidovic, Pierre Ferraux, among others. She was awarded 1st place in the Concurso Nacional para Jovens Solistas da Orquestra Sinfônica da Bahia, 1st place in the Concurso Nacional Maria Teresa Madeira, 3rd place in the Varna International Piano Competiton (Bulgaria), 2nd place in the Concurso Nacional Magda Tagliaferro,  2nd place in the Concurso Nacional Souza Lima, among others. As a solo pianist, she has played with Orquestra Sinfônica da Bahia, Orquestra da Escola de Música da UFRJ, Orquestra Jovem de Campos dos Goytacazes (with which she toured Latin America) and the Varna Philharmonic Orchestra. She plays frequently as a solo artist and as a camerist, in important concert halls in Brazil and internationally. She is currently pianist and arranger in two choro groups.

Claudia Castelo Branco

Claudia Castelo Branco iniciou seus estudos de piano aos 5 anos. Formou-se em piano na UFRJ sob a orientação do Prof. Luis Senise. Atualmente cursa Mestrado em Composição na UniRio, onde desenvolve pesquisa sobre a utilização do piano expandido na música brasileira. Em 2003 venceu o concurso para solista da ORSEM, tendo se apresentado à frente desta orquestra no Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro. Cursou um ano de Composição em Ithaca College, Nova York, com bolsa obtida através do concurso IBEU/IIE no ano de 2001. Atua como pianista em teatro e compositora em cinema, além de participar como dublê e pianista em novelas da Rede Globo. Fez parte do grupo OFELEX, voltado para a composição e interpretação de música eletroacústica. Integra o Duo GisBranco, ao lado da também pianista Bianca Gismonti, onde explora a formação de dois pianos na música instrumental brasileira.

Késia Decoté

Graduou-se em 2002 pela Escola de Música da UFRJ, com notas máximas em performance na classe do professor Luiz Senise. Também estudou órgão com Marco Aurélio Lischt e Gertrud Mersiovsky. Em 2006 recebeu o título de Mestre em Piano pela UFRJ, sob orientação de Myrian Dauelsberg. Participou de master classes com renomados professores, entre eles: Maria Teresa Madeira, Neil Fialkow, Sergei Dorensky, Jaroslav Sonsky, Nelson Faria, Marcos Nimrichter, entre outros. Recebeu Menção Honrosa no I Concurso Internacional de Piano Maria Teresa Madeira e XIII Concurso de Piano Art Livre, sendo também finalista do IX Concurso Nacional de Piano Souza Lima. Com o duo “Batista Jr.-Decoté”, de clarineta e piano, foi premiada no Concurso de Música de Câmara Bianca Bianchi, Curitiba. Como intérprete solista, Késia Decoté mantém intensa atividade no cenário da música contemporânea.

Jadna Zimmermann

Jadna Zimmermann começou sua formação musical com o piano clássico. Graduou-se em licenciatura em Música pela UDESC em Florianópolis. Como percussionista, tem como seu principal formador Robertinho Silva. Atualmente é percussionista da banda da cantora Zelia Duncan; É integrante do grupo Batucajé, com Robertinho Silva, Simone Soul e Alfredo Bello; fez, entre outros trabalhos, a dublagem de percussão no filme "Quase Dois Irmãos", de Lucia Murat; foi percussionista dos espetáculos "Arte da África" de Via Negromonte, além de acompanhar diversos cantores como Crikka Amorim, Joao Pinheiro, Toni Platao.