Biography
Paulo Mendonça began his musical studies with Joaquim Naegele and Prudêncio Miranda in Nova Friburgo, situated in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
In 1974, he moved to the city of Rio de Janeiro, where he continued his studies under Arthur Terry and Sebastião Gonçalves. The same year Maestro Karabtchevsky selected him for the OSB, the Brazilian Symphonic Orchestra, where he played until 1986. During his association with the OSB, he participated in two tours, the first in 1974 to ten countries in Europe and the second in 1977 to the United States and Canada. On those occasions, he had the opportunity to perform in such prestigious concert halls as the Pleyel Hall, in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, The Royal Festival Hall, in London, Koncertgebow in Amsterdan, the Orchestra Hall in Chicago and the Kennedy Center in Washington. He also took part in two OSB recordings: one with Philips (Hilversun, the Nederlands) and the other CBS (New York).
In 1977, he studied under Noel Devos in an advanced course of chamber music interpretation offered by MEC, the Ministry of Education and Culture. He has had master classes with the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Robert Sullivan. He also studied under Raymond Crisara in New York.
In 1986 he took qualifying admission in exams for the Municipal Theatre in Rio de Janeiro, where he passed in first place and played first head trumpet for twenty-three years.
His career as an orchestra musician has allowed him professional contact with such great maestros as, among others Issac Karabtchevsky, David Machado, Mario Tavares, Roberto Duarte, Henrique Morelembaum, John Neschiling, Mitslav Rostropovich, Kurt Mazur, Ira Levin, Gabor Ötvos, Eugene Kohn and Gustavo Plis-Steremberg.
He has formed several brass ensembles, incluiding Quinteto Brasileiro de Metais (The Brazilian Brass Quintet), which has turned almost all of the Brazilian capitals and which was the first quintet of that type to make a recording in Brazil.
He has played as a soloist with orchestra such as the OSB, the Gama Filho Camerata and the Chamber Orchestra of Brazil. He played first trumpet in large-scale productions like the operas Turandot, presented at the outdoor Apoteose Square, and Carmen at the Metropolitan Hall, in adition to the ECO-92 Concert which was broadcast live to thirty countries and later recorded in VT.
In the area of popular music, he has played in diverse spectacle orchestra such as Maestro Cipó’s Orchestra, Maestro Cariocas’s Orchestra, The Tabajara Orchestra, and Rio Jazz Orchestra.
He has participated in theatrical plays, television programs and recording of CDs, DVDs and soundtracks for the cinema.
Throughout his career he worked with such great names of brazilian and international popular music as Caetano Veloso, Roberto Carolos, Rita Lee, Francis Hime, Ed Motta, Tim Rescala, Bibi Ferreira, The Caymmi family, Stevie Wonder, Barry White, Placido Domingo, Barbara Hendricks and Andrea Bocelli.
He graduated in trumpet from the Brazilian Conservatory of Music/ CEU (University Center), where he is presently a professor.
In 2005 recorded a cd, having the chance to spread Brazilian Music and motivate new composers to write for the instrument. In the same year took part in the Biennial of Contemporary Brazilian Music, at the Sala Cecília Meireles/RJ, performing two tracks present in the cd. He performed in several recitals in Rio de Janeiro and other capitals around the country.
In 2008 Paulo Mendonça was invited to lecture as a teacher at the Universidade de Barra Mansa (UBM), jointly with the project Música Nas Escolas.
In 2009 lectured as a teacher in the Project Banda Larga, provided by the Secretary of Culture of Rio de Janeiro and ASBAM, in cities in the state of Rio de Janeiro such as Itaperuna, Nova Friburgo and Barra do Piraí.
Also in 2009 took part as a soloist in the Concerto for Two Trumpets of A. Vivaldi; in October 2011 played as soloist in the Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra of A. Aratunian, both with the Barra Mansa Symphony Orchestra.