Patricia Morehead, 83 years old, Canadian composer and oboist, has just arrived with her husband Phillip, her fourth trip to Brazil. In the first two, he was in Campos do Jordão for the Winter Festival in the city of São Paulo. The third was Gramado (RS) and is now in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina. He came to honor the 17th edition of the Femusc International Festival, at the invitation of Alex Klein, creator and artistic director of the festival, the main non-competitive school event in the country.
“I always knew that it would be possible for us to attract people from abroad who would like to know Brazil from Jaraguá do Sul and that is what is happening, they are loving it”, says Alex, who was a student of Pat Morehead in his adolescence.
A fan of Brazilian music, Patricia, or simply PAT, has been seen in all classrooms and in the various shows produced by FEMUSC, from classics to those dedicated exclusively to MPB. “You have everything here, the Africans, indigenous people and Europeans, this mixture is beautiful and your music is wonderful”, she says excitedly after a tourist tour of the beach of São Francisco do Sul, on the coast of Santa Catarina.
Coming to Brazil was an early birthday gift he gave to her husband. “Where would we find a place like Femusc, which brings together classical music, old music, Brazilian music and all this with very high quality?”, enthusiasm Patricia, used to musical tours in Europe, China, Canada and the United States.
According to Alex Klein, Pat meets great oboists, and has worked alongside great conductors, but her strong point is the composition. “Pat is fully experiencing music at the height of his life,” he says.
Rehearsing some samba steps, even with the difficulty imposed by two titanium plates that he has on his knees, Patricia says that the music for her, first of all, is about the movement. He confesses that he wanted to be a ballerina, but an early accident removed her from desire. “I even danced to ‘Dying Swan’ (the death of the swan) at 15, but I fell on stage”, he says with laughter. One of the great pieces for her is “O Pedro e o Lobo”, a musical fable, written by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. “My husband had to hide the record because I listened non-stop”.
Pat doesn’t get tired of learning, in all conversations he includes whole words or phrases in Portuguese, which he mixes with a little Spanish and a lot of Italian.
About future plans, he says he would like to return to Brazil more often, but the dream is to travel to the moon. Anyone who knows Patricia Morehead is sure she will make it.
Patricia Morehead
In addition to being a composer and an oboist, Patmorehead is also a teacher and was a founder and former artistic director of the CUBE (Contemporary Chamber Ensemble). Always linked to the causes of women’s inclusion in music, it Patpresiduied the International Alliance of Women in Music and the organization of American composers of the Midwest.
He also founded the Forum of Composers at Merit Music School, a non-profit organization in Chicago (USA). He taught online composition in Vermont and at several universities. He currently participates in the 6Degrees (6 degrees). Founded in 2010, the group of five women composers dedicates to writing and interpreting female compositions, created by the musician, educator and poet Regina Harris Baiocchi.
Patricia Morehead made her debut in 1977 at Carnegie Hall in New York and performs frequently in Europe, China, Canada and the United States.
More information about Patricia Morehead, visit www.patriciamorehead.com
about FEMUSC
Considered one of the most important of its kind, the FEMUSC 2022 International Festival was created in 2006 at the initiative of Brazilian conductor Alex Klein. His proposal was to make a personal dream come true: to democratize, popularize and internationalize the learning of classical music in Brazil, through a pedagogical/professional festival.
The 17th edition of the FEMUSC International Festival takes place from January 16th to 29th, 2022. During the 14 days, more than 50 presentations will be held open to the public, including concerts of high international artistic level. This year the festival pays homage to the bicentennial of the independence of Brazil and the 22nd Modern Art Week.
service:
17th edition of the FEMUSC International Festival
until January 29, 2022
Location: Scar Cultural Center Auditorium
Live stream: https://www.youtube.com/user/institutofemusc
Information: festival@femusc.com.br
Access and enjoy FEMUSC all year round:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/femusc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femusc/
Youtube :https://www.youtube.com/user/institutofemusc
flickr :https://www.flickr.com/photos/femusc
Website: https://www.femusc.com.br/
