Johann Sebastian Rio and Guido Sant’anna to Play Municipal Theater

By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Sunday, October 7th, the Johann Sebastian Rio Orchestra will present a a special concert in honor of children’s day at Rio’s ‘Theatro Municipal’ (Municipal Theater) with one of the most promising young talents in classical music, the violinist Guido Sant’Anna. Tickets are on sale for an incredible price of between R$5-R$10.

Johann Sebastian Rio Orchestra is an orchestra that was launched on the internet in November 2014 with a video clip of Vivaldi’s ‘Summer’ and then they made their live debut to a full house at Rio’s prestigious Municipal Theater.

Since then they have continued as both a chamber orchestra that seeks musical excellence and, at the same time, to revitalize the image of classical music. Theirs is an artistic venture that aims to broaden and renew the public interest in both classical and world music, producing encounters and collaborations that keep Rio firmly on the musical map.

Sant’Anna began his studies at age five and is a student of teacher Elisa Fukuda, in São Paulo, having already performed as a soloist with the Bachiana Sesi-SP Philharmonic in Sala São Paulo and São Paulo’s ‘Theatro Municipal’ (Municipal Theater), two of Brazil’s major concert halls.

The young and talented violinist will present two pieces with the Johann Sebastian Rio Orchestra: Joseph Haydn’s ‘Violin Concerto and String Orchestra No. 1,’ and Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Night Club,’ with both composers having been part of the Johann Sebastian Rio Orchestra’s repertoire since their first presentation.

In keeping with a program that honors the prodigies of classical music, there will then be a presentation of Felix Mendelssohn’s ‘Symphony no. 10 for strings,’ written when the composer was also only 12 years old.

To open the concert will be a tribute to Mozart, perhaps the greatest prodigy in musical history, who composed his first play at the age of five. ‘Variações sobre um tema de Mozart’ (Variations on a theme by Mozart) by Ivan Zandonade, was part of the children’s musical show ‘O Maestro Provisório’ (The Provisional Conductor) by Deborah Bapt, which was written for the Johann Sebastian Rio Orchestra and staged in 2016 at the Municipal Theater and in Barra da Tijuca’s ‘Cidade das Artes’ (City of Art).

What: ‘Johann Sebastian Rio e Guido Sant’Anna’
When: Sunday, October 7th; 5PM-6:30PM
Where: Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Praça Floriano, Centro, Rio de Janeiro
Entrance: R$5-R$10; available here