Ivan Vilela

Origin

Itajubá, MG

Genres

caipira music, instrumental, roots music

Instruments

viola caipira, acoustic guitar

Biography

Ivan Vilela was born in Itajubá, Minas Gerais, on August 28, 1962. He is a renowned viola player, composer, arranger, researcher, and professor, having begun his musical journey at the age of eighteen by joining groups dedicated to researching the roots of Minas Gerais music, such as Grupo Pedra and Grupo Água Doce.

His academic background includes a bachelor's and master's degree in Musical Composition from UNICAMP, as well as a doctorate in Social Psychology from the University of São Paulo with a thesis dedicated to the social history of caipira music. Throughout his career, Vilela has stood out for popularizing the viola caipira as a solo instrument and took over the direction of the Orquestra Filarmônica de Violas in 2001, in addition to teaching at the School of Communications and Arts of USP.

Internationally recognized, the instrumentalist has toured abroad since the 1990s, taking his art to countries such as Spain, France, England, Italy, and Portugal. His artistic and academic production also encompasses literary publications and prominent collaborations with orchestral formations, engaging with the tradition of foundational names in Brazilian culture such as Heitor Villa-Lobos.

Discography

• Paisagens (1998)
• Suzana Salles, Lenine Santos, Ivan Vilela – Caipira (2004)
• Orquestra Filarmônica de Violas (2004)
• Vereda Luminosa (2006)
• Dez Cordas (2007)
• Mais Caipira (2010)
• Ulisses Rocha com Ivan Vilela, Raiff Dantas Barreto, Walmir Gil, Vitor Loureiro – O Quinteto (2017)
• Benjamim Taubkin & Ivan Vilela – Encontro (2019)
• Ivan Vilela, Leandro Carvalho (2), Orquestra do Estado de Mato Grosso – A Força do Boi (2019)
• Hortelã (2020)
• MATRIZ (2022)
• Trens e Outros Caminhos (2023)
• Ivan Vilela, Anderson Baptista – Do Corpo à Raiz