Bios
Julie Koidin, Director for the York High School Choro Project
A native of the Chicago area and currently residing in Austin, Texas, Julie Koidin is a classically trained flutist, and is an experienced soloist, studio, orchestral and chamber musician. As an orchestral soloist, she has appeared with the Conservatorio del Tolima Orchestra (Colombia), the Millennium Chamber Orchestra (Chicago) and the Volta Redondo Orchestra (Brazil).
Her current main performance collaborations are with guitarist/composer, Ricardo Vieira in the Koidin-Vieira Duo, based in Aracaju, Brazil; Duo Tempero Brasiliero with guitarist, Neal Alger, based in Chicago; and the Austin group, Caros Amigos, a quartet performing Brazilian choro.
Julie has various collaborations with the world renown, WFMT Radio Network (Chicago). These projects include numerous broadcasts where she performed for the “Live from WFMT/Studio One” concert series and the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series. In 2016 she was the host, producer and researcher of WFMT’s nationally/internationally syndicated radio program, “A Joyful Cry: Brazil’s Choro Music,” prepared for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Her recordings include “In Between” (2018) featuring original music by French harpist/composer Isabelle Olivier; “Choro de Lá pra Cá” (2017) with her Brazil-based trio of the same name, “Eloquent Silence” (Chicago Sessions) by Zvonimir Tot; and Paulinho Garcia’s Grammy-Award nominated, “My Very Life” (Chicago Sessions). She has also recorded three Dois no Choro CDs with her duo partner, Paulinho Garcia: “Asa Branca” (Laughing Buddha Music) with guests Julien Labro, accordion/bandoneon, Linda Binder, mandolin and Heitor Garcia, percussion; “Juntos” (Jazzmin Music, 2002) with guests Altamiro Carrilho, flute/piccolo; Emily Mantell, cello; Maria Teresa Madeira, piano; and Robert Saliba and Heitor Garcia, percussion; and “Carinhoso” (Jazzmin Music, 2000).
Julie is an active teacher internationally and in the U.S. She maintains private studios in the Chicago area and in Austin, Texas. She has performed and lectured at various National Flute Association Conventions, the British Flute Society Convention, and at universities and conservatories throughout the U.S. and abroad, including the University of Montevallo (Alabama); University of Wisconsin-Madison; Cornell University; University of Auckland (New Zealand); the Grieg Institute (Norway); the Conservatorio del Tolima (Colombia); the Jose Maria Rodriguez Music Conservatory (Ecuador); and Brazilian universities and conservatories in Brasília, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, and Natal.
She has participated as a performer and lecturer at various festivals including the Chicago Latino Music Festival, the Curso Internacional de Verão (Brasília); Festival Internacional de Música (Domingos Martins); the Rio International Cello Festival; the Festival de Música International de Inverno (Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ); and the Flöjtmani Summer Course (Arvika Sweden).
To date, Julie has received eight grants to teach U.S. solo and chamber music repertoire for flute to universities abroad. Her grants include: 2002 and 2014-2015 Lecture/Research grants to Brazil and Specialist grants to Norway (2005); New Zealand (2006); Serbia (2008); Sweden (2011); Ecuador (2016); and Colombia (2019).
A specialist in Brazilian choro music, she has performed throughout Brazil and with choro legends Altamiro Carrilho and Carlos Poyares, among other greats in the style. In 2014 she formed the trio, Choro de Lá pra Cá in Natal, Brazil. The group has had two tours in Brazil and three in the U.S. Since 2004 she has had two chamber music tours in Germany with British violinist, David Johnson (Gürzenich Orchester Köln).
Her studies of choro began in 1997, in Rio de Janeiro with Altamiro Carrilho. It was at that time that she fell in love with choro, and she subsequently returned for 22 more trips, traveling all over the country performing, teaching and researching the genre.
In 2015, she became the founder and director of the Chicago Choro Club, a community outreach group that provides classes, workshops and “jam sessions” called “rodas de choro,” that are open to all instrumentalists. The group has participated in various community events such as Evanston’s CommUnity Picnic and Navy Pier’s Brazilian celebration.
As an author, Julie Koidin is an active contributor to the National Flute Association’s “Flutist Quarterly” and has publications in various professional journals. Her two books are titled “Os Sorrisos do Choro” (São Paulo: Global Choro Music, 2011) and its translation, “Choro Conversations” (Freemont, CA: Global Choro Music, 2013). Both books are based on her 2002 Fulbright research.
Koidin holds both her doctorate (DM) and master’s (MMus) degrees in flute performance from Northwestern University, and a BMus in flute performance from the University of Illinois. She has studied with Walfrid Kujala and Richard Graef (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), and Alexander Murray (formerly of the London Symphony).
Vitor Gonçalves, Music Director for York High School Choro Project
Vitor Gonçalves is a pianist, accordionist, composer and arranger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After an illustrious career as an in-demand musician in Brazil, playing with such icons as Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Itiberê Zwarg, and many others, he made the move to New York City, where he currently resides.
Vitor moved to New York in 2012 to deepen his pursuit of jazz and its connection with Brazilian music, and to explore the diverse musical melting pot that is New York City. Shortly after arriving he began leading his own group and forming new collectives, while pursuing a master’s degree at City College. As now a mainstay of New York’s music scene, Vitor has received outstanding critical review including from NPR’s Jazz Night in America, hosted by Christian McBride and The New York Times for his guest performance with the renowned Spok Frevo Orquestra.
A frequent resident on the stages of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Jazz Standard, and the Jazz Gallery, he both leads his own projects, and collaborates with figures in the New York scene such as Anat Cohen, Vinícius Cantuária, Anthony Wilson, Cyro Baptista, and Yotam Silberstein.
Vitor also plays in jazz festivals and venues around the world including the Newport Jazz, Jazz à Vienne, Umbria Jazz Festival, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, and the Coliseum in Lisbon, Portugal.
In 2017 he released his debut album on Sunnyside Records, Vitor Gonçalves Quartet, featuring Dan Weiss (drums), Thomas Morgan (bass), and Todd Neufeld (guitar). Downbeat Magazine reviewed the album, giving it 4.5 stars.
Other groups he co-leads are SanfoNYa Brasileira, an accordion trio with Eduardo Belo on bass and Vanderlei Pereira on drums, and Regional de NY, one of the biggest representatives of choro music in the USA. Both groups released an original album, the former with Steve Wilson as a guest and the latter with Fred Hersch.
In 2020, Vitor received two Grammy Award nominations - one for “Best Latin Jazz Album” with Thalma de Freitas and the other for “Best Large Jazz Ensemble” with Anat Cohen Tentet.
Dedé Sampaio, Percussion Teacher for the York High School Choro Project
Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Ildefonso “Dedé” Sampaio, has been a fixture of Chicago’s Brazilian music scene since he arrived there in 1976 to perform in Breno Sauer’s Made in Brazil quartet. Dedé is an expert in all styles of Brazilian music ranging from afoché to partido alto.
In Brazil, Dedé attended the Conservatório Mineiro de Musica and joined the Brazilian musicians’ union – Ordem dos Músicos do Brasil as a trap drummer and percussionist in 1970. It was in Brazil that he started his career working extensively as a studio musician, performing and arranging numerous commercials, and accompanying top musicians such as Toninho Horta, Dick Farney, and Emilio Santiago, to name a few. The jingles for which he played include McDonald’s, Burger King, American Airlines, Webber Grill, Pabst, Ford, Coc Cola, and numerous others.
Some of the celebrities for whom he has played include Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor and he was the opening act for Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, Spyro Gyra and Jackie Mason.
In addition to performing with Breno Sauer, he also played with Miles Davis, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Rita Moreno, Ben. Vereen, Lionel Hampton, Paul Winter, and numerous others. He has performed for the 1994 World Cup, the 1999 FIFA Women’s Cup and at Millennium Park (“Sketches of Brazil – Miles Davis”). He also appears in the movie, “Boss” with Kelsey Grammar.
Dedé is also a devoted educator and clinician. He developed a program called, “Sounds of Brazil” which he does in various educational settings. Some of his presentations have been for institutions including Northwestern University, the Percussive Arts Society, Vandercook College of Music, University of Illinois at Springfield, Ravinia Festival (“Words and Music”), Lake Forest College, and Roosevelt University.
Jayme Vignoli R. de Moraes, Arranger of “Choro Medley” (special commission for York High School Choro Project)
Award-winning Cavaquinho player, arranger and composer, Jayme Vignoli R. de Moraes, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1967 and began his professional career in 1984. He has performed throughout Brazil and worldwide – including throughout South America, Europe, the US, Africa and in Iran.
Vignoli was a member of Orquestra de Cordas Brasileiras, and is currently a member of Água de Moringo – both winners of Brazil’s Prêmio Sharp Award for “Instrumental Music.”
Since 2003, Vignoli has been a teacher at the Escola Portátil de Música in Rio de Janeiro where he also is part of the institute’s administration. As a music educator, he has participated in various Brazilian and international music festivals including the following Brazilian festivals: Escola Brasileira de Música (Rio de Janeiro/RJ), Festival de Música de Londrina (Londrina/PR), Oficina de Música do Conservatório de Música Popular de Curitiba (Curitiba/PR), Festival Nacional de Choro (Leme/RJ, Águas de São Pedro/SP, Belém/PA, Porto Alegre/RS, Rio de Janeiro/RJ), Festival de Inverno da Casa do Choro (Rio de Janeiro/RJ), Semana Seu Geraldo de Música (Leme/SP), Curso Internacional de Verão de Brasília (CIVEBRA - Brasília/DF), Encontro de Choro da Unicamp (Campinas/SP) and those abroad: New York University (New York), Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium (Copenhagen, Denmark), Fridhems Folkhögskola (Svalöv, Sweden) and the Casa de Choro de Toulouse (Toulouse, France).
As a composer and arranger, Vignoli has a wide range of projects and his music has been recorded by top Brazilian groups and artists such as Água de Moringa, Aldir Blanc, Camerata Brasilis, Walter Alfaiate, Zé Paulo Becker and Quarteto Radamés Gnattali, as well as Zeca Pagodinho,
In 2006, his piece, “Incelença e Coco de Embolada” for strings was one of five finalists (receiving an honorable mention) in the chamber orchestra composition competition, the Prêmio SesiMinas de Cultura. Other works by Vignoli include Estação Madureira (2011), for guitar and string quartet, recorded by Zé Paulo Becker and the Radamés Gnattali Quartet for the project As Quatro Estações Cariocas (“The Four Seasons of Rio de Janeiro”); Litorânea (2011), a 5-movement suite for the group, Camerata Brasilis’s first recording; Das águas (2019), for the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira; and in 2021, his work, Brancaleone, received second prize out of almost 400 entries in the Valley Winds International Composition Competition (USA).
In 2013, Vignoli created Orquestra Fuleira, a group of 15 musicians, to play a repertoire of his compositions together with those written by Brazilian composition greats such as Radamés Gnattali and Guerra Peixe. The group premiered in 2016 with a concert at the Casa do Choro in Rio de Janeiro.
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Ricardo Vieira, Arranger for Receita de Samba and Carinhoso- Gaúcho.
Composer, guitarist, and multi-media artist, Vieira dedicates his artistic activity to production of subjectivity e sonorous poetry in his productions. He received his doctorate in music composition from UNIRIO (Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro) and his master’s degree in music from UFBA (Universidade do Brasília). His main concentration is in musical performance, composition, production, research and teaching with an emphasis on the “creative processes.” For more information, please visit: www.ricardovieira.net.
Jayme Vignoli worked as musician and musical director of the “sambopera” A Traviata (2001), directed by Augusto Boal, when he had to re-write Verdi’s score, adapting it to Brazilian rhythms.
Some of his tunes were recorded by some of the great Brazilian artists like: Água de Moringa, Aldir Blanc, Camerata Brasilis, Choro da Glória, Fina Estampa, Furiosa Portátil, Mariana Baltar, Nadinho da Ilha, Rancho Carnavalesco Flor do Sereno’s Orchestra, Tungo, Valéria Lobão, Walter Alfaiate, Zé Paulo Becker and Quarteto Radamés Gnattali, Zeca Pagodinho, and many others.
In 2006, among one hundred and thirteen inscriptions, was one of the five finalists of the composition competition Prêmio SesiMinas de Cultura – composition for Chamber Orchestra with the piece Incelença e coco de embolada, for strings, receiving at that occasion an honorable mention.
As arranger, Vignoli has a long list of collaborations in recordings and concerts with Brazilian and international artists like: Água de Moringa, Orquestra Petrobras Sinfônica, Brazilian singers Marcos Sacramento, Mariana Baltar and Valéria Lobão, the dutch orchestra Metropole Orkest, swedish singer Miriam Aïda, North American clarinetist and singer Kristen Mather de Andrade among many others.
In 2013, Vignoli created Orquestra Fuleira, a 15 musicians group, to play a repertoire of his compositions and pieces written by great and fundamental Brazilian composers like Radamés Gnattali and Guerra Peixe among others. Orquestra Fuleira did its first concert in 2016 with great success at Casa do Choro in Rio de Janeiro.
In April of 2019 his piece Das águas, for orchestra had its world premiere by Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira in a gala concert at Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro.
In 2021, among three hundred and eighty six inscriptions from fifty countries, his piece Brancaleone was awarded with the second prize at The Valley Winds International Composition Competition (USA - www.valley-winds.org).
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