Breath of Brazil

May 30, 2021 | 3 PM EDT

Get adventurous with Heitor Villa-Lobos' Trio for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon! Combining the raw sounds of wind instruments, this composition is fueled with a distinctly Brazilian ethos. The fifth show of the Boston Festival Chamber Series will feature special guest bassoonist, Naho Zhu, and your host, Alyssa Wang.

PROGRAM

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Villa-Lobos Trio for Oboe, Clarinet, and Bassoon

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Andrew van der Paardt, oboe

Nicholas Brown, clarinet

Naho Zhu, bassoon

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Alyssa Wang, host

Andrew van der Paard 

A Central California native, Andrew van der Paardt is an active freelance oboist in the Greater Boston Area. He holds a position with Phoenix Orchestra as principal oboe and is an active sub with orchestras such as the Boston Pops, the Esplanade Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic, and Portland Symphony in Maine. Additionally, he has performed with orchestras such as the Boston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic, and New World Symphony.

Andrew completed his Bachelor’s degree from The Boston Conservatory, where he studied with the Boston Symphony’s English hornist Robert Sheena. In 2015, he was the winner of the Boston

Woodwind Society’s Ralph Gomberg Oboe Merit Award Competition and The Boston Conservatory Concerto Competition. He attended the Music Academy of the West as an oboe fellow during the summer of 2016, where he studied with Eugene Izotov and Cynthia DeAlmeida.

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Andrew completed his Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory (NEC), where he studied with the Boston Symphony’s principal oboist John Ferrillo and was a recipient of the Boston Foundation’s Laura Ahlbeck Memorial Full Tuition Scholarship. He attended the Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) as an oboe fellow during the summer of 2019, where he was featured as an English horn soloist with the TMC Orchestra. Andrew joined the San Antonio Symphony as acting English horn in the spring of 2020. He performed in Phoenix Orchestra’s “From The Nest” livestream series over the summer of 2020 and is currently working on a video series with them titled The Chronophone. In his spare time, he enjoys video games and playing with his orange cat named Liam.

Naho Zhu

Bassoonist Naho Zhu received her Master of Music degree from The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University under the tutelage of Benjamin Kamins in 2016, and received a Bachelor of Music in 2014 from the Juilliard School where she studied with Patricia Rogers and graduated with the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music.

Since completing her studies, she has established herself as a freelance bassoonist and educator in Boston, performing as a substitute musician with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and as a regular member of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. Additionally, she has performed with the New York Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, and the Scharoun Ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic. Naho has also participated in several prestigious summer festivals including Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, and Zermatt Festival Academy.

She enjoys coaching the young musicians of the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and was the non-major bassoon instructor at Rice University during her time in Houston. When not playing music, Naho likes to spend time with her cat and dog, Maurice and Kuma, cook Japanese food, and dabble in photography.

Nicholas Brown

Nicholas Brown is a clarinetist, educator, and administrator dedicated to versatility and interdisciplinarity. He is a member of the Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, and Phoenix, and has been a guest with such groups as the Chicago Symphony, Boston Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and more. He has appeared as a soloist with the Boston Pops and Symphony Nova, and will be featured on the Boston Festival Orchestra’s season opener in July 2021. As a chamber musician, Nicholas is Clarinetist with Boston-based new music ensemble, Hub New Music.

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Committed to accessible music education, Nicholas works with students spanning all ages, experiences, and abilities. He serves as a clarinet instructor and band specialist at the North End Music & Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC), in addition to teaching the students of Natick and Wayland Public Schools. He is a Neighborhood Artist with the Celebrity Series of Boston, and helped to curate a five-week artist residency with the Boston Music Project and Hub New Music in Fall 2020. Nicholas regularly gives lectures, workshops, and masterclasses at universities across the United States. His teachings aim to foster an encouraging musical environment, create conscientious artists, and emphasize marketable skills.

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Outside of performing and teaching, Nicholas is Assistant Music Director of the Eliot Music Ensemble at NEMPAC. Nicholas earned degrees with honors from New England Conservatory of Music and Boston University under the tutelage of Thomas Martin and Ethan Sloane, respectively.

For more information about Nicholas, visit nbclar.com.