Brazil

Ricardo Castro received the first prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition in England in 1993, becoming the only Latin American to win the competition since its founding. Twenty years later he became, as founder and director of a social project, the first Brazilian to receive the Honorary Membership from the Royal Philharmonic Society. In addition to serving the community, he teaches at Geneva and Lausanne Music Universities and at Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. This unusual path puts Ricardo Castro among the few high-profile musicians who dedicate their life to improving our society through education and social work.

Ricardo Castro started to play the piano at the age of three. At the age of five he was exceptionally accepted at the School of Music of the Federal University of Bahia. Several public appearances followed immediately, and at the age of 10 he performed as soloist Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D Major. In 1984 Ricardo Castro began his musical studies in at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Geneva in the virtuoso class of Maria Tipo and the conducting class of Arpad Gerecz

In 2007 Castro created NEOJIBA (State Centers for Youth and Children Orchestras of Bahia), a pioneering program in Brazil that has benefited more than 10,000 youths. He serves as Artistic Director of the Youth Orchestra of Bahia, the first Brazilian youth orchestra to perform in Europe, and has toured in Brazil, Europe, and the U.S.A.

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