‘An Evening of Brazilian Music for Viola and Piano’ at UW Jan. 22

The University of Wyoming Department of Music will present “An Evening of Brazilian Music for Viola and Piano” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall. The recital is free and open to the public.

The program will feature music for viola and piano by Francisca Aquino, Brenno Blauth, Henrique de Curitiba, Lorenzo Fernandez, Ernesto Nazareth and Ricardo Vasconcelos. Performing the music will be Luciano Pontes, viola, and UW Department of Music Professor Theresa Bogard, piano.

Born in the city of Goiânia, Brazil, Pontes began playing violin at the age of 15. He graduated with a Doctor of Cultural Performances, a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Music, all from Goiás University in Brazil. He studied with Alessandro Borgomanero at Goiás University, and Emmanuelle Baldini and Cláudio Cruz at the Performance Orchestral Academy in the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra.

Pontes has performed in master classes and courses with some of the world’s top artists. He furthered his studies with Bulgarian teacher Evgenia Popova from 2004-07. Pontes has won several top classical musical competitions in Brazil playing the violin, as well as prizes in international music competitions playing the viola, including Audience Favorite at the Boulder Bach Festival’s World Bach Competition; second prize at the North International Music Competition in Sweden; second prize at the Kings Peak International Music Competition; and second prize at the Golden Awards Classical Music Competition in New York City, where he played in the winner’s concert at Carnegie Hall.

He has played chamber music in the main Brazilian concert halls and has held the posts of concertmaster and principal second violin with several Brazilian orchestras; and has served as a viola teacher in courses and led master classes around the world. He currently teaches viola, chamber music and orchestral practice at Goiás University, where he also directs the Jean Douliez Chamber Orchestra.

Bogard, a Steinway Artist, is known as a versatile performer dedicated to expanding the canon of traditional piano repertoire. Her early career focused on performances of music by women composers, and she continues to include works by other lesser-known composers in her varied programs.

As a recipient of a coveted Fulbright grant, Bogard was able to explore her interest in historical performance practice and fortepiano studying at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands. That same year, she was a top prizewinner in the International Mozart Fortepiano Competition in Bruges, Belgium.

Bogard has served on the faculty of the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy and the Sulzbach-Rosenberg International Music Festival in Germany. She also has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and at the Ravinia Steans Institute.

A world traveler with a passion for other cultures, Bogard has performed on five continents. Her extensive discography includes recordings ranging from solo piano to chamber music collaborations, from music of living composers to her specialty in fortepiano and historical performance practice.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirisk@uwyo.edu.