Starting to play Bassoon

Going to College

The college lies in the USA. Coelho attends the State University of New York at Purchase and learns from Donald MacCourt. He graduates early and with honors. He also speaks no English. Used to the familiar warmth of Portuguese and tropical climates, New York seems cold and icy. But at SUNY Purchase, he becomes friends with a flutist named Karen and later attends the Manhattan School of Music, where he meets Arthur Weisberg. Slowly the city of snow and English transforms into a city of opportunity. He founds the Manhattan Wind Quintet and won competitions like Artists International, Coleman Chamber Music Competition, and Carmel Chamber Music Competition. 

Chamber Music

In chamber music, Coelho finds true happiness. It is his favorite thing to do. Sharing music with others, making music with others...What is music not a collaborative experience? Inspiration does not stream from a kettle and vanishes into the air. It wraps around the room, and everyone breathes it—the colors of chamber music float into the air and spin into a vibrant cloud. 

Personal Life

Coelho married Karen from SUNY Purchase in 1992, and in 1995 Liliana was born. Six years later and Julia is born. They live in Iowa City, finding another home in the brick of downtown and the bustle of the university. 

Traveling Around the World

Musicianship leads to travel: Coelho visits Europe, all of the Americas, Australia, and India, each trip giving him more wisdom. Prague is where he steps onto the stage with Mozart and Haydn. He feels the performance hall's historical legacy, genius, and prodigious energy vibrates. Carnegie Hall holds that same vibrancy with acoustics. 

Recording Albums

The silver spinning disks we play are not as simple as they appear. First, you must come up with a program. Second, you must invite all needed artists; third, arrange to work with a recording engineer. Of course, then you must book a venue, tune the piano, and then perform what we ultimately hear in our cars or our stereos. After that, it must be edited. Each CD takes a different amount of time–some whip together like the snap of a book, others stretch out for months. Coelho believes in recording unknown and contemporary works. He tries to expand the music world, seeking inspiration from young, professional, student bassoonists desperate for something new to play. The products of months and years, planning and organizing, and incredible playing take final form in Portraits in Music: Music for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano; Bassoon Images from the Americas; Bravura Bassoon; Pas de Trois; and Explorations.

Favorite Music

In an ever-expanding world of music, how could there be a favorite piece? Every composition of music has its strengths and weaknesses. But music is not meant to be objective; favorite pieces are the ones that send chills down the spine, the ones that drop tears down cheeks, the ones that hold hearts in suspension. For Coelho, he finds that in Stravinsky, who knew the bassoon like the back of his hand. He found it in the Mozart Piano Quintet and the Poulenc Sextour and Trio. He found it in the Mozart piano concerti. To him, they fly like birds, roll like thunder, hold the human soul in their notes. 

Music Education and Students

For something so great in Coelho’s life as teaching, it is only fitting to quote him directly: 

“I think teaching is the most important thing I do.  Every single student is important to me. [...] All students are impressive in their way. Teaching is that many things I say or do will only impact years later. I have been fortunate to teach students who are not interested in becoming professional musicians, but they realized important things through the bassoon and music. My philosophy in teaching and performance is how the information affects them.  A few years ago, I gave the keynote speech for the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society to express what music and teaching mean to me. I feel the poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou’s words express it best by saying: ‘I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ These simple words can make such a difference in our community. I was fortunate to be born into a family that cared about education. They instilled in me the idea of community and emphasized that success is not an individualized accomplishment but a collective accomplishment that brings us together in harmony. We are successful if we can share our successes with others.”