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A versatile artist of musical depth and sophistication, Clarice
Assad has made her mark in the music world in not one, but three
areas; as a pianist, a vocalist and a composer. A seasoned performer
with an active performance career in Brazil and the United States,
Assad is also an accomplished composer whose work is sought out
by musicians for its fluid blending of classical and jazz elements,
subtly infused with the Latin rhythms of her native Brazil.
A composer whose works have been published in France, Assad's works
often have a thematic core, and explore the physical and psychological
elements of the chosen story, object or concept. Her commissions
include Symmetries, a set of works for saxophone and piano
premiered by Chicago Symphony Orchestra organist David Schrader
and saxophonist Taku Akyiama in 2002; Valsas do Rio (publisher:
Editions Lemoine, France), a piece for two guitars for the famed
Godwin-Thompson guitar duo (recorded in 2003 for the VGo label by
Boris Gaquere and Odair Assad); Orange, written for clarinet
and piano and premiered at Chicago's Darby Louise Cultural Center
in 2001; and Flutuante for guitar and clarinet commissioned
and recorded by guitarist Sergio Assad and clarinetist Gabriele
Mirabassi (EGEA, 1999).
As a pianist, Assad has received acclaim for her performances of
both original compositions and her own arrangements of popular Brazilian
songs and jazz standards. She has appeared in Brazil's Espaco Promom,
Au Bar, Mistura Fina, Rio Jazz Club and in the United States at
venues throughout Chicago. As a vocalist, her linguistic skills
have added to her popularity, as she sings in Portuguese, French
and English.
A native of Rio de Janeiro, Clarice Assad was born into one of
Brazil's musical families and has performed professionally since
the age of seven. Formal piano studies began with Sheila Zagury
and Leandro Braga in Brazil; she then studied jazz in France with
pianist Natalie Fortin. Assad continued her classical piano studies
under the tutelage of Ed Bedner at the Berklee School of Music in
Boston and Bruce Berr at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Composition
studies have been with Russian composer Ilya Levinson, Stacy Garrop,
David Rakowski, Michael Daugherty, Claude Baker and Evan Chambers.
She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Masters of Music in Composition
from the Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University
in Chicago, Illinois.
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