Fernanda da Silveira is a cavaquinho player specializing in both choro and traditional samba. Born on the island of Florianópolis, she started music at the age of eight, influenced and supported by her parents. She went on to study with Wagner Segura, Luciana Rabello, guitarist Mauricio Carrilho and composer Ian Guest, among others. She is a founding member of Choro Group Ginga do Mané and was a longtime member of the traditional samba group Um Bom Partido. Since 2008, she has played cavaquinho for the Samba School Os Protegidos da Princesa at yearly Carnival parades.
As the rhythm cavaquinho in many of the ensembles she plays in, Fernanda specializes in playing the role of “centrista”. They don’t call it centrista for nothing: rhythm cavaquinho is central to the sound of traditional choro, and it’s a hard thing for anyone to master. Fernanda’s mission at Choro Camp is to to break it down for us, then help us build it back up. Fernanda has taught at Casa do Choro with Luciana Rabello, at the Centro Musical Wagner Segura in Florianópolis and the Escola Portátil de Música in Rio de Janeiro.
In the choro realm, Fernanda has accompanied guitarists Yamandu Costa and Maurício Carrilho, clarinetist Nailor Proveta and mandolinists Pedro Amorim, Geraldo Vargas and Miltinho Mori. She has also worked with Ronaldo do Bandolim and Jorginho do Pandeiro, both members of the group Conjunto Época de Ouro from Rio de Janeiro.
In rodas and performances of samba Fernanda has accompanied, among others, Monarco, Nelson Sargento, Tantinha da Mangueira and Nadinho da Ilha. Additionally, she has played with the ‘old guards’ of such esteemed samba schools as Velha Guarda da Mangueira and Velha Guarda da Embaixada.
Here’s Fernanda hard at work playing cavaquinho on a composition by Florianópolis-based 7-string guitarist, Raphael Galcer, who plays on this track as well. The tune is entitled “Velho Garcer.”
