Alumna Simone Gorete Machado

Simone Gorete Machado (DMA in Piano Performance, 2006)

 

Since receiving her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance in 2006, Fred Fox School of Music alumna Simone Gorete Machado has enjoyed some impressive accomplishments upon returning to her native Brazil. She is a tenured professor at the University of São Paulo. Her main professors at the University of Arizona included Dr. Paula Fan, Dr. Lisa Zdechlik, Dr. Janet Sturman and Dr. Suzanne Knosp.

 

Dr. Machado writes:

 

“My experience at the UA broadened my interests in ways I could never have foreseen. Although trained as a concert solo pianist, I found a passion for research and presented “The Influence of Dance Practice on the Performance of Piano Works by Brazilian Composers: Francisco Mignone (Congada) (Caterete), Lorenzo Fernandez (Jongo) and Marlos Nobre (Frevo)” at the 2006 Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities. It was also at the UA that I realized my potential as a teacher. After being a successful graduate teaching assistant, I lived, as a professional, some of the most rewarding moments in my career through my students’ accomplishments and growth as well as the gratitude of their parents. I became committed to my ability to make a difference in the quality of education making it more meaningful for any age group.”

 

 

More about Dr. Machado:

 

Born in Brazil, pianist Simone Gorete Machado has won many prestigious Brazilian competitions, the first one being at the age of fifteen. She has performed as soloist with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra and the Goiânia Symphony Orchestra. Her main mentors were Andrea Santana, Lilian Meire, Belkiss Carneiro de Mendonça, the acclaimed Chilean pianist Roberto Bravo who invited her to tour Chile as joint recitalist, and the internationally renowned composer Camargo Guarnieri who became interested in Machado’s performance and invited her to study musical interpretation under his tutelage until his death in 1993.

 

International master class performances include those with Brazilian pianists Luis de Moura Castro and Arnaldo Cohen, Byron Janis from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, Nelita True from the Eastman School of Music and Russian pianist Sergey Dorenski. The later led to an invitation to perform at the Vienna Saal at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

 

Simone Gorete Machado holds a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance and a Graduate Professional Diploma from The Hartt School at the University of Hartford and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance with a minor in General Education from the University of Arizona. While in residence at The Hartt School, she studied with Dr. Paul Rutman and was a member of the Contemporary Players chamber ensemble, which specialized in 20th century music. While at the University of Arizona, Ms. Machado was a successful graduate teaching assistant for several years and also pursued training in the Suzuki Method in addition to her work with children. Her cross-disciplinary dissertation research on the historical and cultural contributions of indigenous dance to the development of modern Brazilian piano repertoire was presented at the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities in January 2006.

 

Dr. Machado is currently a tenured professor at the most prestigious research institution in Brazil, the University of São Paulo. Her duties at the University include piano lessons, research, outreach projects, performances and the coordination of group piano.

In 2009 she was honored with the title Artist in Residence from the University of Arizona Biosphere2 and together with Regents’ Professor Dr. Paula Fan and Dr. Scott Saleska they prepared a format of presentation which combined science and music. This successful project about the Brazilian culture and environment was presented at the Biosphere2, at the Fred Fox School of Music of the University of Arizona, Arizona Public Media, World Piano Pedagogy in Serbia and at the TEDxPhoenix.

 

Feel free to visit Simone Gorete Machado’s Youtube Channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCksRRwOI1qq7AlKCb7tQAbQ