YouTube: Celso Machado is Guest Percussionist for Performance of 'Folguedo for 8 Guitars' (12:20) by Victoria Guitars

[Celso Machado and Folguedo For 8 Guitars]

On this YouTube video, Celso Machado contributes both percussion and scat vocals to a full-length performance of his composition Folguedo For 8 Guitars (12:20) by Victoria Guitars. The ensemble is affiliated with the Victoria Conservatory of Music in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Celso Machado makes his home in British Columbia.

YouTube.com
"Folguedo for eight guitars

by Celso Machado, directed by Alexander Dunn. Celso Machado, guest percussionist, with Victoria Guitars. Victoria Conservatory of Music, Victoria, BC, Canada.” Celso Machado (b. 1953) is an Afro-Brazilian composer and guitarist who is profiled at AfriClassical.com and who has a website of his own, http://www.CelsoMachado.com

Cadenagramonte.cu: Students of Québec & Cuba in 'La Bella Cubana' of José White April 3, Las Tunas, Cuba

[José Silvestre White (1835-1918), shown here after he received the 1st prize for violin at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1856. Bibliothèque Nationale de France]

José Silvestre White (1835-1918) was an Afro-Cuban violinist who became a composer and professor after graduating from the Paris Conservatory. He is profiled at AfriClassical.com:

Radio Cadena Agramonte

“Cuban and Canadian Musicians Give Concert in Eastern Cuba

LAS TUNAS, Cuba, Apr 4.- Students from the art school “El Cucalambe” from Las Tunas, Cuba and from Quebec’s art school La Seigneurie, Canada gave a concert Sunday as closing of a trip for cultural exchange between the two schools. The students from both countries came together in a choir and a chamber orchestra to give the concert in which they interpreted songs from both countries, like La bella cubana by Jose White, and the Spring Anthem by Felix Leclerc.

“La Seigneurie’s director Gills Tetreaut said the concert was very good in spite of the few days the young musicians had to prepare it and rehearse and also the complexity of the repertoire. The group of 17 students of music and dance, and two professors from the Quebecois school has been in Cuba since March 26 on a program for cultural exchange that included visit to historical places, lectures about Cuba and exchange with students from Las Tunas, located in the eastern region of the island.”

The Niagara Falls Review: 'Nathaniel Dett Chorale founder celebrates historic times'

[Nathaniel Dett Chorale and Brainerd Blyden-Taylor]

The Niagara Falls Review, Ontario, Canada

Nathaniel Dett Chorale founder celebrates historic times

Gospel workshop in the Falls, then off to Obama's inauguration

January 8, 2009
Posted by John Law

The next ten days will be eventful for conductor Brainerd Blyden-Taylor: He’ll start with Niagara, and finish with Obama. First up, the world-renowned artistic director of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale is in town Saturday to participate in The Gospel Train Workshop at St. Andrew’s United Church on Morrison Street, hosted by Niagara chamber choir Choralis Camerata. Then, he’s off to Washington for festivities surrounding the U.S. presidential inauguration. On Feb. 19, the night before Barack Obama is sworn in, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale will perform at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on Martin Luther King Day.

On Inauguration Day, the group will perform at the Embassy of Canada’s headquarters on Pennsylvania Avenue. It’s an invite that has brought the group international attention this week. Gospel Train Workshop organizer Laura Thomas is relieved she booked Blyden-Taylor before word got out. “I think what I said was, “As long as you’re still available on (January) 10th ... that’s great!’” Named after the black composer from Niagara Falls, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale was formed in 1998 as Canada’s first professional choir dedicated to Afrocentric music of all genres. It has won worldwide acclaim the past decade, marking its 10th anniversary with a tour of the southern U.S. [R. Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) is profiled at AfriClassical.com]

Comment On “Revival Arts Blog: Celso Machado at Mission Folk Festival”

Yesterday AfriClassical posted “Revival Arts Blog: Celso Machado at Mission Folk Festival” on the Afro-Brazilian guitarist and composer who was born in Brazil in 1953 and now lives in Canada. Jason of Revival Arts Blog has made a comment we very much appreciate: “Thanks for your comment and link on your blog! It was wonderful to read up on Celso Machado and listen to some of his music on your website. Even though we only saw him perform a little, he was one of the highlights of the Mission Folk Music Festival. His love and dedication to music was evident in everything he did from body percussion, to getting the crowd involved, to playing guitar and to creating new sounds with his water bottle. Our 5 year old son was transfixed and giggling through much of his performance.”

Celso Machado: Afro-Brazilian Classical Guitarist & Composer

Celso Machado is an Afro-Brazilian composer, guitarist, lyricist and singer. He has a new CD, Jogo da Vida. The works Machado writes and performs are played by guitarists in both classical and world music genres. He was born in Ribeiro Preto, Brazil on January 27, 1953. At age seven he began performing in street bands. Machado first performed in Canada in 1986; he moved there in 1989. His many CDs consist of music composed by himself and others. His recordings, compositions and awards are listed at his Web site: www.CelsoMachado.com

Machado has composed sound tracks for several documentary films. His score for the film In the Company of Fear won a Leo Award in 2000 in Canada. Publication of Machado's sheet music has resulted in many performances by other guitarists. The French firm Éditions Henry Lemoine has published a volume of his music, Musiques populaires brésilliennes pour flûte et guitare.

Machado has adopted rhythms and musical instruments from many cultures. He teaches master classes for guitar. Three of his CDs have been nominated for Canadian Juno Awards: Varal, Surucua Art Productions 002 (1997); Jongo Lê, Daqui (1999); and Capivara, Surucua Art Productions (2005).

Classical guitarist Adam Khan includes five works of Celso Machado in his current performance repertoire. The long list of classical guitarists who have recorded Machado's works includes the Canadian Guitar Trio, Gerald Garcia, Zsofia Boros, Walter Stoiber, Winfried Stegmann, David Nutall, Timothy Kain, Neil Anderson, William Buonocore and Pasquale Bianculli.

The online music shop of CBC Records, http://www.cbcshop.ca/, says Machado's newest CD, Jogo da Vida, CBC 3021, represents a substantial departure from his previous recording projects. The CD was released in Canada on July 3, 2007; its U.S. release date is August 28, 2007, according to Naxos, its U.S. Distributor.

Performers on Jogo da Vida are Celso Machado, acoustic guitar, vocal and percussion; Carlinhos Machado, electric guitar; Cyro Baptista, percussion; David Virelles, piano; Rich Brown, electric bass; Guiomar Campbell, vocals and percussion; and Eliana Cuevas, vocals.