Mateus Oliveira holds both a BM and MM in Percussion from the Federal Univesity of Minas Gerais (UFMG). His master’s dissertation discusses the use of popular music idioms in contemporary concert music. In 2006, he concluded a postgraduate in percussion at the Iberoamerica Conservatory del Liceuin Barcelona, Spain, supported by a Carolina Foundation scholarship.
Mateus is a versatile performer, comfortable in both classical and popular genres. He has worked with groups and artists such as Cataventoré, Quebrapedra, Misturada Orquestra, Grupo Oficina Música Viva, Matheus Rodrigues Septeto, Música Figurata, and Makely Ka, among others. Mateus has performed “Iris” for solo berimbau and “Repercussio” for berimbau sextet by Brazilian Composer Alexandre Lunsqui. His berimbau trio composition “Caminhos” is the result of his involvement in a special symposium on musical bows at UFMG directed by Gregory Beyer during the second half of 2015.
Oliveira currently holds three percussion teaching posts in Minas Gerais: at UNINCOR in Três Corações, the Methodist Institute Izabela Hendrix in Belo Horizonte, and at the “Music Station,” a municipal music project in Santa Bárbara.
His bibliographical production includes articles published in conference proceedings such as the 14th ANPPOM Conference (São Paulo), the First Encounter of PopularMusic in the University (Porto Alegre-RS) and the First Brazilian Percussion Conference (Campinas).
“I consider my experiences playing with Arcomusical Brasil the best possible, since I play with great percussionists and friends. The music we make always causes a strong impact in the public…people are attracted by the different sounds of the berimbau as well as our relaxed performance style. In the future, I hope to see the group playing more around the country and giving classes and workshops about berimbau. I also hope to see the group compose more of its own repertoire, and create video and audio recordings of this great music.”
