Fernando Machado

Intro

I trained as a classical guitarist, studying with renowned Brazilian masters including Henrique Pinto, Fábio Zanon, Camilo Carrara, and Paulo Porto Alegre. After completing my studies in 2002, I began researching and working in Brazilian traditional music and songwriting.​

For six years, I composed and performed with the award-winning São Paulo–based groups

Babado de Chita, Nhambuzim, and the experimental Estúrdio Quarteto, blending

traditional and roots music with dance, theatre, literature, and storytelling.

Since then, my artistic focus has centred on cross-arts collaboration, creating works that

connect music with movement, narrative, and visual expression.​​​​​

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London

In 2008, I moved to London and completed a Master’s in Music Leadership at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 2010. The programme’s collaborative ethos and community focus opened the door to a diverse musical career rooted in creativity, partnership, and wellbeing through music.

Since then, I have developed a multifaceted practice bridging performance, facilitation, and interdisciplinary creation, working across a wide range of artistic and educational settings.

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Community Music

Community music-making is central to my identity as an artist. I design and lead creative music sessions, body percussion, and Brazilian music and dance workshops in schools, arts institutions, prisons, hospices, hospitals, nurseries, and community events.

I also deliver Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training for educators and musicians and have delivered training at Guildhall School of Music, Faculdade Santa Marcelina and Projeto Conectar. My practice also includes ongoing projects such as Key Changers, developed in partnership with New Note Orchestra, offering music leadership training for people in recovery from addiction.

Currently, I work as an Associate Facilitator and Team Leader with Soundcastle (video), a charity focused on music and wellbeing; as a teacher at the Royal College of Music; a Workshop Leader at Britten Pears Arts' Aldeburgh Young Musicians (AYM); and as a freelance musician and facilitator. My international collaborations with musicians, dancers, actors, storytellers, and visual artists continue to enrich my creative practice.

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Creating, Recording & Producing

As a producer and recording artist, I have created a diverse body of work connecting Brazilian roots music, improvisation, and contemporary sound exploration. My productions include:

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• Lambrego (with flutist Hannah Dunster) – Lambrego, Cheiro de Saudade, Blink, and Migrant’s Song Cycle (with visual artist Akhila Krishnan)

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• Borges Machado (with sax player André Borges) Building Sites and Presence of Absence, blending free improvisation, field recordings, and experimental soundscapes

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• Viva a Roda, a single by Samba Roda Viva celebrating our roda de samba in Brighton.

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• Babado de Chita’s debut album, featuring Dona Onete, Marcelo Pretto, Côco Raízes de Arcoverde, and Gil de Piquete​

• Archway Groovy Tots, a children’s album created with Archway Children’s Centre, featuring songs from around the world

• Elements, commissioned by the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, a lockdown project.

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These projects reflect my commitment to creative collaboration and to bridging traditional and contemporary musical languages.

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Performing

As a performer in the UK, I have appeared at venues including The Southbank Centre, The Barbican Centre, Cecil Sharp House, Rich Mix, Vortex Jazz Club, Café Oto, Battersea Arts Centre, Passing Clouds, Tropical Pressure Festival, and Kemptown Carnival. My song “Alô, Berenice?” was featured on BBC Radio 3’s World on 3.

I currently perform with:

• Lambrego – original songwriting project

• Borges Machado – free improvisation duo

• Samba Roda Viva – samba circle

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