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Leandro Braga studied classical piano at the Conservatório Musical Santa Cecília, in Sao José dos Campos, in Sao Paulo state, graduating in 1972. During the next six years of medical studies, he studied contemporary styles and harmonic approaches, as well as jazz. Soon after, he taught piano at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and gave master classes in Germany and the United States.
Leandro has been in demand as an instrumentalist and arranger on the Rio scene for years, working with Ivan Lins, Leila Pinheiro, Elba Ramalho, Emilio Santiago, João Nogueira, Adriana Calcanhoto, Zelia Duncan, Guinga, Eduardo Dusek, Beth Carvalho, João Nogueira, Marcos Valle, Martinho da Vila, Chico Buarque, Milton Nascimento, Edú Lobo, Miúcha, MPB4, Quarteto em Cy,Olivia Byington, Jane Duboc, Francis Hime, and Fafá de Belém, among others.
In 2001, Leandro initiated a program to provide lessons in guitar, cavaquinho, wind instruments, percussion, chorus, and so on to more than a hundred youths in impoverished Rio neighborhoods, and he led many of his students in the award-winning recording CD Samba Pras Criancas, released in 2004 .
Leandro also arranged and co-produced the project, which featured singers
Dona Ivone Lara, Ney Matogrosso, Paulinho Moska, and Dudu Nobre.
Among Leandro's other activities, he has undertaken many musical theater projects, a solo piano transcription project to be used at the
Berklee College of Music in Boston for Brazilian piano instruction, and a performance and recording project exploring the music of Charlie Chaplin.
Leandro is also in demand as a composer. Sao Paulo's
Symphonic Orchestra Jazz commissioned an homage to Dorival Caymmi. Titled
Òrun Àyié, the piece debuted in 2004. The
Filarmônica Orchestra of Rio De Janeiro performed
his Concêrto Sacopenapã.
He has also written for, conducted, and played in several film and television scores. |
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