Diogo Monzo
39 years old
Born in Barra do Piraí, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Biography
Diogo Souza Vilas Monzo, a Brazilian of Italian descent, was born in Barra do Piraí in April 1985. He is the son of Rosiene Aparecida de Souza Vilas and Renato Monzo. He has been exposed to Brazilian music since he was a child. He played percussion instruments, including the pandeiro. At the age of 15, at the Music School of the Associação Batista Centro Sul Fluminense, based at the Segunda Igreja Batista de Barra do Piraí, Diogo finally decided to pursue a career as a musician, under the guidance of Professor Rogério Toledo, dedicating himself entirely to the piano.
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Diogo worked at the Segunda Igreja Batista de Barra do Piraí —RJ—from 2008 to 2012. There, he developed projects with choirs of all age groups, founded an art school, developed social projects in the area of ​​music, serving more than 200 children and their families, solidified the church orchestra, and produced musicals with more than 300 performers, including musicians, actors, and dancers.
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In 2004, he began his bachelor's degree in piano at the Centro Universitário Conservatório Brasileiro de Música – RJ under the guidance of Professor Maria Tereza Soares. He also had classes with Professors Talitha Peres and Maria Teresa Madeira. Diogo completed the course with honors, obtaining the highest grade in his final piano test. In 2016, he completed his Master's Degree in Music in Context at the Federal University of Brasília (UnB) under the guidance of Professor Dr. Ricardo Dourado Freire. In 2017, Diogo worked as a substitute professor at the Federal University of Goiás (UFG). In 2022, he completed his Doctorate in Theory and Practice of Interpretation at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) under the guidance of Professor Dr. Clifford Hill Korman.
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After finishing his undergraduate degree, he continued to study. Passionate about creating, he deepened his studies in harmony and improvisation at the CIGAN RJ Music Center. Later, Diogo studied The Art of Improvisation at Berklee On The Road, with workshops in songwriting and arranging and with pianist Laszlo Gardony. He also took classes with pianists Roberto Alves and Rafael Vernett. 2011 Diogo had a significant encounter with pianist and composer Jeff Gardner, author of Jazz Piano: Creative Concepts and Techniques.
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2016 Diogo was selected among the Top 5 in the "Made in New York Jazz Competition." He was chosen as one of the best instrumentalists of the year in 2015 by the website "Best of Brazilian Music" - for the album "Meu Samba Parece Com Quê?" and again in 2018 for the album "Diogo Monzo Filho do Brasil." Diogo's discography includes seven albums:
(1) Diogo Monzo plays Luiz Eça live in Vienna (Austria) and Sofia (Bulgaria), released by the record label Biscoito Fino;
(2) Nós e o Mar, a partnership with Roberto Menescal and Ricardo Bacelar, released by Jasmin Music;
(3) Sebastiana, released by the record label Biscoito Fino;
(4) Diogo Monzo Filho do Brasil, released by the record label Biscoito Fino;
(5) Luiz Eça por Diogo Monzo, released by the record label Fina Flor;
(6) Meu Samba Parece Com Quê?;
(7) Hinos Tradicionais Sob Uma Nova Concepcão.
On December 4, 2015, he made his European debut, performing three solo piano concerts in Hungary, Italy, and Portugal. On May 21, 2016, he made his US debut in New York at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center alongside great jazz masters such as Rufus Reid, Tommy Campbell, Philip Harper, and Bobby Sanabria. Since then, Diogo has performed in theaters, halls, auditoriums, on TV, at festivals, with orchestras, symphonic bands, big bands, solo piano, throughout Brazil and in several countries, such as: Vienna Summer Music Festival, Salon Brahms, Austria, Festival ARC Clàssica, Morella, Spain, Sofia Symphonic Summit, Bulgaria, Chamber hal, Summer Academy of Arts, Burgas City Council, Bulgaria, Festival ARC Clàssica, Museu d'Art Contemporani Vicent Aguilera i Cerni (MACVAC), Vilafamés, Espanha, Teatro Oriente, Chile, CulturArt Cafe Koncert, Glamsbjerg, Denmark, O Castelo da Quinta da Regaleira em Sintra, Portugal, Festival de Outono em Aveiro, Portugal, Semana da Arte Brasileira em Sofia, Bulgária, Academichen Sinfonichen Orchestra, Sofia, Bulgaria, Haezor em Tel Aviv, Israel, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, Academia de Música, Teatro e Artes em Plovdiv, Bulgária, Blue Note RJ, JazzB, Sala Baden Powell, Auditório Claudio Santoro, Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, FIMI Festival, Teatro Nadir Saboya, Theatro José de Alencar, Fortaleza, Banda Sinfônica da UECE, Fortaleza, Orquestra Sinfônica da Uece, Fortaleza, Festival Pianístico, Clube do Choro, Brasília, Orquestra Sinfônica do Teatro Nacional Claudio Santoro (OSTNCS), Sala Cecília Meireles, auditório Lorenzo Fernandez, Savassi Festival, Festival de Inverno de Petrópolis, Sesc em Barra do Piraí, Festival vale do Café, Ipiabas Blues Jazz Festival, Auditório da Faculdade Batista do Rio de Janeiro, Sesc em Brasília, Festival Café Cachaça e Chorinho, Sala Thomas Jefferson em Brasília, Triboz RJ. Diogo performed in the series "Mini Recitals" broadcast by UnB TV, on the "Palco" program on TV Record, on the "Músicas que Elevam" program on Boa Vontade TV (Channel 20 on Sky, 212 on Oi TV), on the "Refrão" program on TV Câmara, on the "Espaço Cultural" program on TV Senado, on the "Partituras" program on TV Brasil and the "Sem Censura" program on TV Brasil.