Brian Rice Lecturer in Music Director of Samba and Afro-Cuban Percussion
Brian Rice is a highly acclaimed performer, educator, and
recording artist and one of the most versatile percussionists in
the Bay Area. Though best known as a specialist in Brazilian and
Cuban music, Brian can be heard playing a multitude of styles and
his percussion playing graces over 60 recordings.
Brian received his Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin
Conservatory of Music in Percussion Performance and
Ethnomusicology, and has been a freelance musician since 1989,
founding the bateria Samba Seattle, the Afro-Cuban Folkloric
Collective, and traveling to both Cuba and Brazil for musical
studies. Brian currently performs with Mike Marshall and Choro
Famoso, Claudia Villela, Jorge Alabe and Samba Rio, Cascada de
Flores, the Berkeley Choro Ensemble and Wake the Dead. Brian is
an endorser of Latin Percussion instruments.
Modeled after the famous baterias of Rio de Janeiro’s renowned
samba schools, the UC Davis Samba School performs high-energy
music of Brazil’s Carnaval for audiences throughout
Northern California. The group was formed in 2004 and has since
become a vibrant force in campus life, performing at festivals,
fundraisers and community events across the region. A contingent
of 25 drummers muscle through traditional material taken from
Rio’s major samba schools as well as original music created by
the group.
The Afro-Cuban Ensemble studies and performs music from the
African-derived folkloric traditions of Cuba, the instruments and
techniques of the Yoruba, Bantu, Arara and Iyesa drumming, and
song traditions including the bembe, batá, guiro
(chekere), as well as Cuban secular music such as Rumba, La
Conga, Conga Santiago. Includes an introduction to the
historical and cultural context of folkloric traditions and
practices in Cuba.
The Afro-Cuban Ensemble studies and performs music from the
African-derived folkloric traditions of Cuba, the instruments and
techniques of the Yoruba, Bantu, Arara and Iyesa drumming, and
song traditions including the bembe, batá, guiro
(chekere), as well as Cuban secular music such as Rumba, La
Conga, Conga Santiago. Includes an introduction to the
historical and cultural context of folkloric traditions and
practices in Cuba.
The Afro-Cuban Ensemble will focus on the African derived
folkloric traditions of Cuba. This class will introduce the
instruments and techniques of the Yoruba, Bantu, Arara and Iyesa
drumming and song traditions including the bembe, batá, guiro
(chekere) and rumba musical styles.
