My name is Brian Rice and I am raising funds to support the creation of a new work for pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine) and orchestra which will be premiered on May 14th with the Diablo Symphony Orchestra.

I have been in the world of the Brazilian pandeiro for 35 years performing with many of the great Brazilian and American artists playing choro, samba and other Brazilian music. I love it so much that I was inspired to start the Berkeley Festival of Choro with co-director, Jane Lenoir.

We have brought many artists to the community and have commissioned new works including the Brazilian Choro Suite arr. by composer-arranger Felipe Senna. We will be performing this, and the new pandeiro concerto by Felipe, with the Diablo Symphony Orchestra in May.

Brazil has given me so much, musically that I felt it was time to give back in this way by creating a new and first-of-its-kind concerto for all the pandeiro players in the world. The commissioning of new work can cost thousands of dollars, hours of collaboration with Felipe, and the rehearsal and practice time to prepare will be extensive. I also plan to capture a video of this first performance and plan to bring Felipe to the U.S. for this concert.

The Diablo Symphony, being a volunteer orchestra can only afford to compensate a fraction of the cost of putting this new piece together. The Choro Suite calls for a choro ensemble, of 5 players to whom all of the DSO's proceeds will go. Your donation will help me cover some of the cost of the commission, and help pay for videography services. All of which will help keep new and ground-breaking music alive, and living composers and performers creating art.

Thank you for considering supporting this meaningful project.

Yours,

Brian Rice