Marcelo Costa

Marcelo started studying music aged 13 years playing drums. He graduated in percussions at São Paulo State University in 2000. During the four years of his graduate studies he participated to the scene of the Brazilian contemporary music as part of the PIAP group. With this group he gave several concerts in various Brazilian states and one special concert in Mexico City. The academic studies also prepared him for playing the orchestral repertoire: he participated to orchestras such as OSESP, Symphonic of Paraná, Jazz Symphonic and the Young Symphonic Band of São Paulo State.

After his graduation he traveled by the countryside of Brazil. He experienced deeply the music and the culture of his country. Then he complemented his studies researching Brazilian traditional percussions and their specific rhythms.

He was invited to teach Brazilian percussion at the Brincante Institute, an important center of North-East culture in São Paulo. Concurrently, he worked as drums teacher at several music schools in São Paulo and gave some workshops of Brazilian music in Brazil and Europe.

A very important event happened in 2001: the group Um Trio Viralata was created with Marcelo Costa playing pandeiros, Guga Murray playing guitar and Vitor Lopes playing harmonica. In this group everyone does the compositions and the arrangements. They recorded two albums from live performances propagating the modern Brazilian instrumental music in Brazil, France, Spain and Belgium.

Marcelo also collaborated with Antônio Nóbrega, Toquinho, Mawaca, Young Orchestra of Brazilian Percussion Zabumbau, Boi Marinho Group, Robin Gibbs (former Bee Gees), Comboio Big Band, Sambadaboom (France), Le Club du Choro de Rennes (France).

In 2010 he obtained the Master’s Degree in musicology at the University of Rennes 2 (France). His research title was “The Brazilian frame drums: Historical and organological aspects”. Today, Marcelo works on a Ph.D. about his main instrument, the Brazilian pandeiro.

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