Pacer Photo / J.J. Somerville
Amidst some high wind and heavy rain, a sizable crowd gathered to watch Choro das 3 at room 122 of the Fine Arts Building on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. The Brazilian instrumental musical group is composed of three sisters who had previously performed at Weakley County’s elementary and middle schools as part of a UT Martin outreach program. Of the three sisters, there was Corina Ferreira; who played the transverse flute, the piccolo, the tambourine and a hardwood shaker; Elisa Meyer Ferreira; who played the mandolin, the piano, the clarinet, the banjo and the accordion; and Lia Ferreira; who played the 7-string guitar. They were also accompanied by UT Martin Music lecturer Austin Shoupe on the surdo drum and technical specialist Micah Barnes on the cavaquinho for some select numbers.
For a good portion of the evening, the Fine Arts Building was filled with lively Brazilian music, including a variety of genres such as Choro, Samba and Frevo. Clothed in colorful Brazilian garments, the sisters played each available instrument masterfully, whether it was stringed, woodwind, or percussion. They even invited audience members to sing along during certain segments. Each number elicited a strong round of applause, to which Corina would respond with an ever-grateful utterance of “Obrigado!” which is Portuguese for “thank you.”
The songs performed that night included: Assanhado by Jacob do Bandolim; Apimentado by Elisa Meyer Ferreira; Alma Portuguesa by Corina and Elisa Ferreira; Você, Carinho e Amor by Waldir Azevedo; Do Coração ao Bandolim by Elisa and Paulo Fasanaro; Olho de boi by Elisa; Marinheiro Só (traditional); Forró de um Baixo Só by Leroy Amendola; Festa na Lagoa by Corina, Lia, Elisa, and Eduardo Ferreira; Água de Beber by Tom Jobim; and Brasileirinho by Waldir Azevedo.
Choro das 3’s visit to Martin, Tennessee was only a small stop on a years-long tour. Towards the end of the performance, Corina Ferreira revealed, “My dad used to play with us. He was our percussionist. And in 2021 he passed away from Covid. That’s why this tour is such a long tour. We started in May of 2023, and we’ve been driving since then, going to different states. And we are going to go back to Brazil in December.” She went on to explain that “[This tour] helped us reconnect with life, with the good things…with our music [when] we thought that we had lost it after he passed.”
Before they left, Choro das 3 praised Weakley County and its residents. Corina Ferreira commented, “It was a wonderful week. I am very grateful for UTM for having invited us to do this and…especially to be in the schools with the kids. I thought that this was so important because my dad was not a professional musician. My dad played in high school and then [worked] in mechanical engineering. And in Brazil, schools did not have music programs.”
As for the future, technical specialist Barnes hopes to premiere a choral work with the Ferreira sisters, but that is yet to be decided.
To find out more about Choro das 3, you can search for: Chorodas3.com, YouTube and Instagram
