Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Enjoy the beautiful sounds of Brazilian music at Rock Creek May 3

Photos and story by Janis Nichols

Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Music Program presents the Brazilian virtuoso Celso Machado at 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 3, in the Forum Theater, Building 3, Rock Creek Campus.

The concert is sponsored by a donation from PCC’s Internationalization Steering Committee and a grant from the Cultural Coalition of Washington County and the Oregon Cultural Trust. The concert is also part of the campus’ 40-year anniversary celebration.

While the concert is free, a suggested donation of $10 (cash or check only) to support the Music Program is encouraged. Parking is free in the event parking area immediately behind Building 9.

Virtuoso Brazilian guitarist, percussionist, multi-instrumentalist and composer Machado transports his audiences through the richness and diversity of Brazilian music and beyond. For 40 years Machado has performed on concert stages throughout Brazil, Western Europe, Scandinavia, Canada, and the United States. Considered one of the most versatile and exciting musician/composers of Brazilian music today, his guitar technique is but one of his passions; his gift for making music out of anything and everything around him is his mission in life.

While Machado’s music is rooted in Brazilian rhythmic and melodic styles, it also reflects his incurable fascination with other world music traditions. He finds similarities between the music of southern Italy and northeast Brazil, the Egyptian Maqsoum and the Brazilian Baião rhythm, the Moroccan Gnawa rhythm and Afoxé and Samba. He incorporates these influences into his own sound: his own unique contribution to the ongoing evolution of Brazilian music.

This concert is intended to raise awareness about the Rock Creek Music Program. Rock Creek offers music classes for musicians of all experience levels.

For more information about the concert, contact Jason Palmer at jason.palmer@pcc.edu, or call (971) 722-7869.