Brasília, founded on April 21, 1960, built practically from scratch (although its territory has been occupied by humans for thousands of years), is a city that is building its cultural identity.

In music, there have been significant movements that have begun to shape the city’s personality. The cabeças movement, rock and the more recent modern choro movement are just a few examples.

In classical music, Brasília has welcomed great composers such as Marlos Nobre, Cláudio Santoro and Jorge Antunes. Unfortunately, so far all the outstanding composers that the capital has produced have been born in other states.

The guitar in Brasília, in particular, has had great moments since the city was built, such as the constant presence of Dilermando Reis in the city, and there are signs that it already has a prominent local production written by musicians born in the capital, such as composers being recorded by Brazilian and foreign guitarists.

This research project aims to investigate these signs, record them in scores and recordings, and encourage the creation of new works. Our aim is to contribute to revealing and building the musical identity of Brasilia’s guitar music and to help dispel the myth that Brasilia has no culture of its own.

Watch below a live performance of that program made on December 6, 2024, in Minneapolis (MN, USA)

Research Products

Listen to the recording at the streaming platforms

Rules

01 – Composers and guitarists born in the Federal District (DF) and living in the capital can take part in the project.

02 – For this project, Brasília is considered to be the entire territory of the Federal District. The terms “classical guitar” and “classical guitar” are also considered synonymous.

03 – Three (3) research fellows and three (3) composer fellows will be selected by interview and portfolio analysis.

04 – The research fellows must have graduated or be enrolled during the application period in a technical or higher education course (BA or BSc) and have classical guitar as their main instrument.

05 – Composers must be graduates or enrolled during the application period in a technical or higher education course (BA or BSc) in music, have at least one composition played by a performer other than themselves, and be able to write scores in a musical software program, such as Finale or Musescore. The composition(s) submitted can be for any instrument or musical formation.

06 – Scholarship holders will have a supervisor and a co-supervisor to contribute to the research, who will have recurring meetings defined after selection.

07 – The expected period of dedication to the project is twelve weeks for research fellows and six weeks for composer fellows. Early or late delivery of research products may alter this deadline.

08 – Each research fellow must find at least one unpublished (at least recorded) solo guitar composition, of at least three minutes, by a composer born in Brasilia, and deliver as a final product a digital file in music notation software (e.g. Finale) of this composition, as indicated by the supervisor and/or co-supervisor, for publication following the standard of recognized music publishers (Schott, Bärenreiter, etc.).

09 – Each scholarship holder must write an unpublished composition for solo guitar (including in performance), of at least five minutes, with contrasting sections (including tempo changes). This work must have an innovative form and/or characteristics, and cannot be a suite with dances from the Northeast and/or Southeast. The scholar will deliver as a final product a digital file in music notation software (e.g. Finale) of this composition, as indicated by the supervisor and/or co-supervisor, for publication following the standard of recognized music publishers (Schott, Bärenreiter, etc.).

10 – Research fellows will be paid R$ 2,400 (two thousand four hundred reais) at the end of the research.

11 – Composers will be paid R$1,650 (one thousand, six hundred and fifty reais), including the release of copyright for the recording to be included in the project.

12 – Applicants for a research grant must send the following files, in a single PDF file, to alvaro@alvarohenrique.com:

a) document proving birth in Brasília;
b) document proving current residence in Brasília;
c) document proving compliance with article 04 of these regulations;
d) a portfolio of your work as a guitarist.

When evaluating the portfolio, greater relevance will be given to the premiere of new compositions, programs with music composed after April 21, 1960, and performance in the field of classical guitar.

13 – Applicants for a composer scholarship must send the following files, in a single PDF file, to alvaro@alvarohenrique.com:

a) document proving birth in Brasília;
b) document proving current residence in Brasília;
c) document proving compliance with article 05 of these regulations;
d) a portfolio of your work as a composer.

When evaluating the portfolio, greater relevance will be given to presentations of compositions in which the composer is not a performer, and to samples of published compositions or compositions written in music notation software.

14 – Applications will be open from March 15th to April 10th, and the results will be published on this website on April 17th.

15 – Between 10/03/23 and 14/03/23 it is possible to request changes to this notice by e-mailing alvaro@alvarohenrique.com. If there are any changes, they should be published on 15/03/23.

16 – The portfolios of the scholarship holders will be assessed by the project supervisor and co-supervisor, Professors Alvaro Henrique and Zilmar Gustavo Costa, and the decision of the panel will be final.

17 – If necessary, an interview may be arranged with the most competitive candidates. At the interview, the candidates will have the opportunity to give more information about their work as indicated in the portfolio, and how they can contribute to the success of the project.

Results