Biography
My earliest interactions with music began shortly after I first moved to the UK, at the age of five. My local music school in Worcester had a club called Music Makers, where young children could learn about music through fun activities involving singing and playing percussion instruments. After some time, my teacher recommended that I audition for the Worcester Cathedral Choir, where I would eventually spend six years as a chorister.
During that time, it was expected that members of the choir should play two different instruments; I had already started learning the piano, and after listening to a CD of Prokofiev’s Peter & the Wolf, I decided I wanted my second instrument to be the duck! I had no idea what an oboe was, but I was determined to learn how to play it because I loved how it sounded, and I liked the idea of learning an instrument that not many other people played.
In 2011, I moved back to Brazil, and during my High School years, I took part in an annual music festival called AMIS, where I was able to play in an orchestra consisting of students from dozens of international schools based all over the world. While music had been a prominent part of my childhood, it was the AMIS experience that made me realise I wanted to become a professional musician, and I discovered that, even if my schedule became stressful at times, or I had to play with a bad reed, or the repertoire wasn’t my favourite, working collaboratively with others in an orchestral environment and being involved with music every day was what I enjoyed doing most.
After four years in São Paulo, I decided to return to England and started studying as an undergraduate at the Royal Academy of Music, and last year, I completed my postgraduate degree there as well, with a Distinction and DipRAM, having studied with Christopher Cowie, Ian Hardwick, Celia Nicklin and Sue Böhling. Since graduating from the Academy, I’ve been able to work as a freelancer with orchestras all over the UK, such as the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Welsh National Opera Orchestra, and Birmingham Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Teaching is also an important part
of my life and having completed my LRAM teaching diploma at the Academy, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being able to teach the oboe, piano, and music theory over the last few years.
EDUCATION
Royal Academy of Music
London, UK
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
What is your favourite piece of music and why do you love it?
As an oboist, I’ve noticed that my favourite orchestral pieces tend to be ones with prominent oboe solos, and of those, I think my favourite would be Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin. There are many amazing solos for the oboe throughout the piece, but what I particularly like is the way in which Ravel explores many different characteristics of the oboe sound, from the fast, technical passages in the Prelude, to the slower, more heart-felt melodies in the Minuet. The unique imagery that he creates in each movement is extraordinary, and the fact that each movement also has a dance-like quality makes it a very enjoyable piece to play and listen to.
Where’s your favourite place to listen to music and why?
Currently, my favourite place to listen to music is my living room, mainly because it has a comfortable sofa, and easy access to the kitchen in case I’d like to have a cup of tea or a snack while I’m listening. I like the idea of having a music room one day, with a really good sound system and a large wardrobe for all my classical music CDs, but for now, my living room has been a great environment for listening to, and practising, music.