Guitar Series: Brazilian Guitars

Brazilian Guitars explore the richly expressive melodies, harmonies, and rhythms of Brazil. Rogério Souza (7 string guitar), Richard Miller (7 string guitar), and Leonardo Lucini (7 string bass), perform music that is uniquely original and truly a world unto its own. Their music is very spontaneous with elements of improvisation and virtuosity. Their combined twenty-one strings inspired these musicians to form the Brazilian choro ensemble “21.”

Rogério Souza is an award-winning guitarist and composer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A master of both the 6- string and 7-string guitars, he is a founding member of the innovative Brazilian instrumental group, No em Pingo D’Água (A knot in a drop of water), with whom he has released six recordings. Rogério completed his first solo CD, Violão Brasileiro, in 2008 and has recorded two CDs in collaboration with his brother, the Brazilian mandolinist Ronaldo de Bandolim: Epoca de Choro (2007) and Retrato Brasileiro: Músicas de Baden Powell (2009). Rogério has toured throughout Latin America, the United States, Europe, and Asia, performing and recording with some of the greatest artists in Brazilian popular music, including: Paulinho da Viola, João Bosco, Ney Matogrosso, Ivan Lins, Elizeth Cardoso, Dona Ivone Lara, Elsa Soares, Zélia Duncan, Leila Pinheiro, Baden Powell, Paulo Moura, Guinga, and Epoca de Ouro. He is also the author of a method book on choro guitar and co- authored a three volume collection of choro transcriptions, Songbook Choro, volumes 1-3.

Richard Miller explores the richly expressive sounds of the seven-string guitar with a repertoire that includes Brazilian styles (choro, samba, bossa nova, forró, etc.), American jazz, Latin American styles (salsa, bolero, tangos, etc.), and Classical guitar. He is also active as an educator, composer, and writer/presenter for academic publications and conferences. He earned a Masters in guitar performance from Manhattan School of Music and a Ph.D. in music theory from Catholic University of America. He taught at CUA and at Georgetown University for many years and now teaches at Columbia University in New York City. Richard Miller was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to an American father and a Brazilian mother and moved frequently between Brazil, United States and Puerto Rico. He has traveled extensively for concerts and recitals in the United States and Latin America.

Leonardo Lucini is a bassist, composer and educator in the Washington DC area. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Mr. Lucini has performed locally and/or abroad with a variety of internationally renowned artists including Nestor Torres, Arturo O’Farrill, Alex Acuna, Chuchito Valdez, Leo Gandelman, Raul Mascarenhas, Rogerio Souza, Giovanni Hidalgo and Horacio (El Negro) Hernandez. He also performs with his own Brazilian jazz band Origem. In Brazil, he performed with well-known groups and artists such as Nó Em Pingo D’Agua, saxophonist Paulo Moura, singer-composer Marcos Vale, and the Orquestra de Música Brasileira. As a teacher, Mr. Lucini has given lectures and clinics at the Berklee College of Music, Goucher College, George Washington University, George Mason University, Georgetown University and the University of Maryland. Mr. Lucini is an Artist in Residence at Montgomery College, where he lectures on Brazilian music and directs the Latin Ensemble. A graduate of Howard University, Mr. Lucini also holds a Master in Music from the University of Maryland.