Many thanks to:

4  Culture  Brazil  Arts  &  Education  

Tides  Foundation  Bellevue  Arts  Council  

Maple  Valley  Creative  Arts  Council  Crossroads  Community  Center  

…  and  to  all  of  those  who  supported  this  work  

                       

                                       

                                       

Show Brazil Productions:

Eduardo Mendonça – Director Ana Paula Mendonça – Manager Diana Bohn – Assistant Manager

Beth Gott – Booking Agent Assistant Patricia Fox – Development Specialist

CHIQUINHA GONZAGA: A (Brazil ian) Birthday Celebration.  Show  Brazil!  Productions  is  proud  to  announce  this  musical  

birthday  tribute  to  the  remarkable  Brazilian  composer,  pianist,  and  conductor  Chiquinha  Gonzaga  (Francisca  Edwiges  Neves  Gonzaga1847-­‐1935),  a  social  and  political  activist  who  was  the  first  to  breach  many  walls  in  a  male-­‐dominated  19th  century  musical  world.    Born  into  an  aristocratic  mixed  race  family  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Chiquinha  Gonzaga  benefited  from  an  education  befitting  a  proper  young  lady:  reading,  writing,  and  piano.    Propriety  took  a  turn  after  her  later  divorce  from  a  demanding  husband  and  disinheritance  from  her  family.    Gonzaga  entered  the  bohemian  musical  world  and  supported  herself  performing  popular  music  for  high  society  and  composing  scores  for  carnival  and  burlesque  musical  theatre.  

 PERFORMERS  

Sada  James  Doup    (Violin)  Sada  set  out  on  her  musical  journey  with  violin  in  hand  at  age  9  in  Spokane.  In  2003,  Sada  opened  8th  Note  Music  Studios  (Marysville),  a  much  needed  space  for  community  music  teachers.    Through  the  incorporation  of  classical,  fiddle,  jazz  and  improvisation,  Sada  and  her  students  explore  the  many  melodies,  harmonies  and  rhythms  that  always  seem  to  find  their  way  into  our  lives.    

Paula  Libes  (violin)  Originally  from  New  York,  Paula    has  called  Seattle  her  true  home  for  more  than  twenty  years.      Paula  has  played  violin  since  childhood  and  has  participated  in  community  orchestras  for  over  30  years.    Currently  she  plays  with  the  Sammamish  Symphony  and  Microsoft  She  joined  Cordas  because  she  was  inspired  by  the  wonderfully  talented  and  incredibly  brave  Chiquinha  Gonzaga  who  paved  the  way  for  women  composers,  conductors,  and  performers.    

Rachael  Beaver  (cello)  A  native  of  Texas,    Rachael  has  performed  as  a  vocalist  since  the  age  of  four  and  began  playing  cello  at  nine.  She  studied  at  Cornish  College  of  the  Arts.    She  has  written,  recorded,  and  performed  with  orchestras,  ensembles,  and  bands  throughout  the  Pacific  Northwest  

and,  for  theatrical  productions  at  STAGEright  and  Tacoma  Musical  Playhouse.  Rachael  met  Eduardo  in  2009  when  both  worked  on  Musician  Corps’  Why  Music,  produced  by  Arts  Corps  and  under  Mendonça  artistic  direction.    Later  discussions  of  the  project  with  Eduardo  presented  a  promising  opportunity  to  further  explore  a  unique  component  of  Brazilian  musical  culture.        

Teah  Akrish  (viola)  Teah  began  her  journey  with  the  viola  in  the  Kent  School  District.    Fascinated  with  that  instrument,  orchestras,  and  composers,  Teah  particularly  enjoyed  learning  about  female  composers  and  their  struggles  to  compose  music  and  bring  it  to  the  public.    Her  participation  in  the  Chiquinha  Gonzaga  project  which  links  personal  and  national  histories  through  popular  music  brings  that  early  fascination  full  circle.    Teah  has  studied  with  Nathan  Harrison  who  was,  at  the  time,  principal  cellist  for  the  Tacoma  Symphony,  and  then  with  Sally  Maddocks  and  Scott  Ligocki.    Teah  reclaimed  her  musical  vocation  and  has  since  trained  with  Joyce  Ramee  and,  at  present,  with  Wesley  Dyring.      Currently,  Teah  performs  with  the  Thalia  Symphony  and  the  jazz/pop  band  Portrait.    

 

DIRECTOR: Eduardo  Mendonça,  a  Brazilian-­‐American  recording  artist,  producer,  vocalist,  composer,  and  musical  arranger,  was  born  in  Salvador,  Bahia,  Brazil.      

PROGRAM:

1-­‐ O  Abre  Alas  (Francisca  Gonzaga)  2-­‐ Gaucho  (Francisca  Gonzaga)  3-­‐ Atraente  (Francisca  Gonzaga)  4-­‐ Lua  Branca  (Francisca  Gonzaga)  5-­‐ Não  Insistas,  Rapariga  (Francisca  Gonzaga)  6-­‐ Dejanira  (Francisca  Gonzaga)  7-­‐ Valsa  do  Outono  (Eduardo  Mendonça)  8-­‐ Sedutor  (Francisca  Gonzaga)  9-­‐ O  Abre  Alas  (Francisca  Gonzaga)