Born and bred in Rio de Janeiro, I started playing guitar when I was 13. Like most friends, I started playing classic rock riffs from my heroes, such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Mark Knopfler. By the time I graduated from secondary school, I was digging into Steve Morse, Eric Johnson, and other fancy cats. 1990, I joined the electric guitar bachelor’s program at Universidade Estácio de Sá and discovered Brazilian instrumental music.
At Estácio, I studied with Aloysio Neves, Nelson Faria, Yuri Poppof, Peri Santoro, and other committed professors who encouraged me to find my own path. Halfway through the course, I went to the Musicians Institute and studied with Joe Diorio, Scott Henderson, Dan Gill, Steve Cardenas, and other excellent guitarists. In Los Angeles, I learned how to express myself with the guitar and have carried that everywhere. While in the U.S., Tom Jobim passed away, and my colleagues and teachers shared their sorrow and respect for the composer’s legacy. I realized I had a responsibility to the music from my country; I had to rediscover Brazilian music.
I returned home and used every opportunity to learn our music. Through capoeira, forró dancing, and samba de raiz, I started filling in the gaps in my learning. By the end of the 1990s, I released my first album, Eu Vou Cantar (1999).
The album was sold in Japan, thanks to Marcos Suzano’s participation, and placed me on the map. I started playing every in Rio. After that, I joined Dread Lion, a reggae band signed by Sony Music, with whom I toured all over Brazil. I also took part in the birth of Monobloco, a successful carnival ensemble, where I got in touch with Ciavatta’s Passo Method, a turning point in my career as a music educator. At the same time, I started playing live music for Priscilla Teixeira’s ballet dance classes and composing soundtracks for dance, animation, and websites.
In 2003, I crossed the Atlantic Ocean, searching for new horizons for my music. I performed at the Blue Note in Paris; I played in Bordeaux, Barcelona, and Munich. In Bristol, where I stayed for almost a year playing and teaching Brazilian music. That was when I ran a Brazilian Body Percussion workshop at the WOMAD festival.
In 2005, I was back in Rio teaching music at The British School, where I stayed for five years. In the meantime, I released my 2nd album, Chega de Falar de Amor (2006). The album received excellent reviews, and the songs Nega Problema and Todo Mundo Quer Ser Brasileiro made it into international compilations.
I started an MA in Music Composition at Universidade Federal do Paraná in July 2009. I undertook practice-based research with dancers from the Teatro Guaíra and deepened my studies in interdisciplinary composition. In 2013, I returned to the British School and later joined Escola American in Rio de Janeiro. In 2015, I won a grant from the British Council and the Brazilian Ministry of Culture to teach Brazilian music at the World Heartbeat Music Academy in London, UK, where I played with talented young musicians at the Speaker’s House, Wimbledon, and the Brazilian Embassy. In 2017, I spearheaded a flashmob with those kids in a South London mall; the video has reached almost a million YouTube views and is highly regarded within the Brazilian community in England.
In 2019, I started a PhD in teaching and learning at Georgia State University. I pursued my dream of studying music education with Dr. Patrick Freer, Dr. Martin Norgaard, Dr. Lisa Mercier-DeShon, and Dr. Janice Fournillier, among others. My dissertation was inspired by the work of Dr. Graham McPhail and Dr. John Kratus. Welcome to Barcellos Music!
Luiz Claudio Barcellos has written what may be the best research study in the world on children's songwriting.