Brazilian-American Clarice Assad is a significant artistic voice in the classical, world music, pop and jazz genres. A Grammy-nominated composer, celebrated pianist and inventive vocalist, she is renowned for her diverse stylistic range. An innovator and passionate educator, her award-winning Voxploration Series on music creation, songwriting and improvisation has been presented across the globe.
A composer with more than 70 works to her credit, Assad’s many commissions include works for Carnegie Hall, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo, Chicago Sinfonietta, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Boston Youth Orchestra, Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Queen Reef Music Festival and the La Jolla Music Festival, among others. Her compositions have been recorded by some of the most prominent names in classical music, including percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, and oboist Liang Wang; and her music has been performed by internationally acclaimed orchestras, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony, Queensland Symphony, and Orquestra Sinfônica de São Paulo.
As a performer, Assad has shared the stage with such artists as Bobby McFerrin, Anat Cohen, Paquito D’Rivera, Tom Harrell and Mike Marshall, among other outstanding musicians. She has performed at internationally renowned venues and festivals including The Netherlands’ Concertgebow, Belgium’s Le Palais des Beaux-Arts, Le Casino de Paris, and New York’s Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Assad has released seven solo albums and appeared on or had her works performed on another thirty. During 2019 Assad will have four of her works included on newly released recordings.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Clarice Assad is one of the most widely performed Brazilian concert music composers of her generation. She holds a bachelor of music degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, and a master of music degree from the University of Michigan School of Music.
This will be Assad’s fifth residency and third commission with the Cabrillo Festival. É Gol !, her new interactive educational work for orchestra—a Cabrillo Festival commission inspired by “Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls”—will receive its world premiere on Sunday, August 4, at the Free Family Concert, featuring Assad as soloist.
