Our 3rd Brazilian Choro Music Festival builds on the success of the first two of these events. The first festival was a celebration of the longevity of the roda de choro at the Couth Buzzard, now entering its 13th year. The second festival celebrated the richness of the choro community in the Puget Sound region, and the ecosystem of performing bands, annual Centrum workshops and the monthly roda that nutures the growing interest in choro and Brazilian culture more generally.

This third festival celebrates the newly formed Clube do Choro Cascádia, a nonprofit whose mission is to present educational opportunities, concerts, and participatory jams (rodas) for instrumentalists of all ages and abilities, and to broaden the reach of Brazilian choro music. This reflects the traditional role of a clube in Brasil to bring a community of people together to play, learn and promote choro, an engaging music that combines groove elements from Africa with classical melodic expression and harmony that is deeply Brazilian.

On Saturday night, the festival highlights featured artists Tim Connell on mandolin and Sean Watson on 7-string guitar, a duo that joins masterful talents from the traditional acoustic music world and that of social media streaming platforms. Long-time choro performers from Seattle, Port Townsend and Olympia fill out the schedule on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Emerson Pirot: Voz e Violão - Saturday, October 11 at 6:00 pm
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Emerson Pirot has lived and performed all over the world with over 20 years of professional experience, much of it as a solo performer. Her refreshing and nuanced vocals deliver lyrics with an honest intimacy. In Brazilian song, she finds a deep connection to a culture where music is an essential part of life, traveling many times to Brazil to absorb its rich sonorities. Emerson is as well a dedicated teacher in workshops, classes and private lessons for voice and piano.

Tim Connell & Sean Watson Duo - Saturday, October 11, 7:00-8:30 pm
The Festival’s featured artists from Oregon present choro music as a mandolin and 7-string guitar duo touring throughout the Pacific Northwest. Both masters of their craft, they blend their talents to create fresh, engaging renditions of even the most classic choros.

Tim Connell is well-known to acoustic music fans as a first-tier, virtuoso mandolinist, touring nationally with Don Julin, Eric Skye and Mike Marshall’s Ger Mandolin Orchestra. Regarded as one of the top North American interpreters of the Brazilian choro style on the mandolin, Tim has his own unique voice on the instrument, described in a Mandolin Magazine cover story as “fiery and energetic, soulful and evocative.”

Sean Watson is an Oregon-based musician and composer recognized for his emotive instrumental electric guitar music. With five successful albums and millions of views and streams across social media and streaming platforms, he has built a dedicated global following for his dreamy, ultra-melodic, loop-pedal driven guitar compositions. In recent years, Sean has immersed himself in Brazilian Choro music, studying under celebrated masters Douglas Lora and Dudu Maia. With a focus on the 7-string guitar and cavaquinho, Sean has stepped into the role of choro multi- instrumentalist, adding an exciting new chapter to his musical story.