Choro Camp New England June 24 – 30, Smith College, Northampton, MA

From the Producer of Django in June: Choro Camp New England
June 24 – 30, Smith College, Northampton, MA
When Andrew Lawrence hosted the first Django in June in 2004, everyone in attendance fit on a patch of grass surrounding a single tree on the campus of Smith College. This year, by contrast, eight dorms are on reserve for the 300 participants expected at the largest music camp in the world devoted to the so-called
“Gypsy jazz” tradition associated with Django Reinhardt.

Lawrence plans to repeat that cycle from scratch with the launch of a new event, this one devoted to the Brazilian musical tradition of “choro.” [sho-roo] The inaugural Choro Camp New England will take place on the campus of Smith College in Northampton, MA, June 24-30. In a country known for the extraordinary richness of its cultural traditions, choro is one of the most precious jewels in Brazil's musical crown. The genre dates back to mid-19th century Rio de Janeiro, where European classical music – the Portuguese “modinha,” the Viennese waltz, the Hungarian “polca” – was transformed by Afro-Brazilian musicians who brought to it not only their virtuosity, but the musical
sensibilities of the African diaspora.

Choro musicians retained the rondo form, elegant melodies and sophisticated harmonic structures of Portuguese court music, but incorporated greater syncopation, chromaticism and improvisation. The musical style that resulted is easily accessible to North American ears, with hints of not only classical music, but Ragtime and jazz. And yet “chorinho” is uniquely, exquisitely Brazilian.

Choro has been winning hearts and attracting practitioners in the US for a number of years, including highly skilled artists such as mandolinist Mike Marshall and clarinetist Anat Cohen. Lawrence thinks Choro Camp New England can do for choro what Django in June has done for Gypsy jazz in North America. “After all,” he says, “students of either style face very similar challenges, the two biggest being access to expert instruction and to other musicians to play with. Well, we offer both.”

He points to another important similarity between the two musical traditions, namely, their appeal to both serious musicians and a broad listening audience. “Both Gypsy jazz and choro hit that sweet spot at which virtuoso instrumentalists are engaged and yet the tradition doesn't allow them to leave the audience behind. This is melodic, joyful, accessible music that anyone can enjoy from the get-go.” Participants at Choro Camp will partake of workshops by day and rodas de choro (literally, “choro
circles”) by night, all guided by a staff of mostly Brazilian artists. On Wednesday, June 26, several of those artists will provide live music before a screening of the 2005 documentary, “Brasileirinho” at Amherst Cinema. The week's festivities wrap up on Saturday, June 29th with a concert at the Academy of Music Theater in Northampton MA. Featured performers will include Choro Livre from Brasilia and Choro
das Três from São Paulo.