April Song by Cassio Vianna is the NBA Young Composers Jazz Composition Contest winner for 2016. This original work will be performed by the United States Army Field Band’s Jazz Ambassadors, directed by Chief Warrant Officer Daniel Wood, at the 2016 Midwest Clinic. The performance will take place on Thursday, December 15, 7:30 PM, Chicago at McCormick Place. Brian Logan, NBA Jazz Composition Contest Chair, calls Vianna’s April Song “terrific.”

Cassio Vianna is a composer, pianist, arranger, and educator whose work reflects the broad range of musical and cultural influences he has received during his years of training. Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Vianna started his music studies in classical music, while developing his skills as a composer and interpreter of popular music and Brazilian jazz.

Vianna holds a bachelor’s degree in Brazilian Popular Music from Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro and a master’s degree in Contemporary Music from Western Oregon University, where he studied with Dr. Kevin Walczyk. After holding a music faculty position at Western Oregon University for three years, Vianna is now a doctoral student in the Jazz Studies program at the University of Northern Colorado, where he is also a teaching assistant. Currently, Vianna studies classical composition under Dr. Paul Elwood, and jazz composition under professor David Caffey. Vianna’s compositional styles range from popular music and Brazilian jazz to classical chamber music and works for large jazz ensembles. His works for jazz big band are published by UNC Jazz Press. Vianna is a BMI composer, and a member of both the Jazz Education Network, and the Society of Composers, Inc.

Listen to his music at www.cassiovianna.com