Profile - Nailson Simões - by Nairam

The Brazilian Trumpet Master

          

  At beginning of the 20^th century, the popular styles of Brazilian music were the samba, bossa nova, choro, forró, and others Brazilians folk music. The nationalism of these music styles left classical music only for those who really wanted to study that kind of genre.  To become a musician, Brazilian people had to study in churches, participate in middle schools marching bands, or attend one of the few music conservatories in their country.  Earning a degree in Music Performance or Music Education was almost impossible unless one was in South Brazil where the larger cities are located.  In the mid 1900s, the government started hiring musicians from other countries to teach and help establish Music Performance as a new academic major at Brazilian universities.  The government also offered scholarships to young and talented Brazilian musicians who had the potential to study abroad and bring back knowledge to help establish this new musical concept in the culture of Brazil. It was in that scenario that Dr. Nailson Simões began pursuing his dream of becoming a classical trumpet player.

Dr. Simões was born in Quipapá, a very small Brazilian city in the country side of Pernambuco state.  Following an old tradition, this city had a well established marching band which was indispensable for the local society. It was in this band, at the age of eight, where Dr. Simões had his first contact with music and the trumpet. After proving to be one of the most talented musicians of the marching band, the band director encouraged him to apply to the Pernambuco Conservatory of Music (located in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco state) to study classical music, an art form which he had no previous experience or knowledge.   Dr. Simões received a scholarship and was the first brass instrument player to ever earn a degree from that institution.  After graduation, Dr. Simões began his journey to become one of the most brilliant Brazilian musicians of his time. He received two prizes in national music competitions and was offered a position as principal trumpet in the prestigious São Paulo Symphony Orchestra.  This allowed him the opportunity to study the trumpet with an American trumpet player who had a college degree in Music Performance. After accepting this job offer, Dr. Simões moved to São Paulo in the Southeast Region of Brazil and established connections with many trumpets players from different parts of the world. This experience really changed his perspective of life. He realized that pursuing a college education in Music would bring big benefits for the musical career he desired. After a few years working with the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Simões joined the faculty of the Federal University of Paraíba as a “notorious knowledge” teacher where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance.

Not satisfied with just a bachelor’s degree, Dr. Simões wanted to pursue graduate studies in the U.S.A.  It was during a Music Festival in the city of Dijon, France, where Dr. Simões met his future Professor, Charles Schlueter (principal trumpeter of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and professor of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston). They had an immediate connection and Dr. Simões recognized and appreciated the work of Professor Schlueter through his recordings with the orchestras of Boston and Minnesota. During this Music Festival, Dr. Simões confirmed his preference for the American school of trumpet playing and realized that it was the most adequate to his artistic and performing music concepts.

Dr. Simões was honored by Professor Schlueter with a recommendation for the New England Conservatory of Music, where, in 1984, he began his Master's degree in Trumpet Performance as a recipient of the Fulbright Commissions / CAPES / LASPAU scholarship from the Brazilian government. His master's thesis, supervised by Professor Schlueter, was an assessment of the trumpet solos found in Brazilian music, both in traditional and in chamber repertoire, which are subjected to a selection process criteria based on artistic relevance, historical importance, difficulty level, and interpretive use of the instruments (in different music keys).

Upon graduation in 1986, Dr. Simões received the "Distinction in Performance" award which is a special award granted annually to a student of the New England Conservatory of Music who demonstrates excellence in performance. After a period of three years back in Brazil, Dr. Simões received another scholarship from the Brazilian government to go back to the U.S.A and get a PhD in Music Performance. He selected The Catholic University of America ​​in Washington DC for two main reasons: 1) To continue and deepen his technical and interpretative studies of the trumpet and 2) To continue studies under the guidance of Professor Schlueter since the New England Conservatory of Music did not offer a PhD in Music Performance. At that time, Dr. Simões was the first and only Brazilian trumpet player to have earned a PhD in Trumpet Performance.

After the conclusion of his Ph.D. studies, Dr. Simões returned to Brazil and established the first Undergraduate Program of Trumpet Performance at the Federal University of Paraíba. Dr. Simões was a pioneer for an entire generation of trumpet players and he inspired many young trumpet players of Northeast Brazil to follow his footsteps. He helped them realize that being a professional musician with a college degree would open doors that would allow them to excel in their music careers and earn a better income.

Dr. Simões was one of the professors that led a movement for establishing a new and reformulated Music Program of Brass taught in Northeast Brazil. He organized numerous brass music festivals and workshops which brought many international guest musicians to Brazil in order to motivate young musicians to pursue a college degree in Music. Dr. Simões also toured throughout Brazil, performed at Music Recitals and Master Classes, and recruited talented trumpet players to study with him. He started with a few students who today are trumpet professors in all the new Trumpet Performance Graduate Programs in Brazil.

Dr. Simões is the founder of the Brazilian Trumpet Association and a board member of the International Trumpet Guild. He is well known as a committed professor and leader of a new approach in how to teach the Trumpet at the college level and beyond. To keep himself updated, Dr. Simões coordinates brass wind meetings annually along side Professor Charles Schlueter. These meetings represent a way to keep in touch with trumpet players from American schools. He constantly performs as a soloist with various Brazilian music groups such as Orchestras, Brass Quintets, Trumpet and Piano duets, as well as ensembles of Brazilian folk music.

Dr. Nailson Simões is currently a professor of trumpet at UNIRIO (the State University of Rio de Janeiro - Brazil). His office is isolated from the rest of the Music School, and it is located right behind the Concert Hall in a really peaceful environment.

In conclusion, Dr. Nailson Simões can be taken as an example for all music students in Brazil. He is an example that hard work pays off. You must be persistent in pursuing your dreams, even when you are from a modest family and think that you country has nothing to offer you. I am very pleased to call this man, my father.

 Work Cited

Simões, Nailson. Telephone interview. 30 September 2011.