Roberto Sion

Origin

Santos, SP

Years active

1971

Genres

instrumental music, jazz, mpb

Instruments

saxophone, flute, clarinet

Biography

Roberto Sion is a prominent Brazilian saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, arranger, composer, conductor, and educator born in Santos on October 6, 1946. He is a cousin of the renowned trumpet player Cláudio Roditi and relocated to São Paulo in 1971. Initially graduating with a degree in Psychology from the State University of Campinas, he discovered his passion for music in his mid-twenties and subsequently pursued formal musical studies at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, United States, where he learned from notable instructors such as Joseph Viola, Ryo Noda, Lee Konitz, and Joe Allard. Throughout his distinguished career, he has written arrangements for both solo instruments and large orchestras.

Sion's artistic contributions include working with the instrumental quintet Pau Brasil, appearing on albums such as Pau-Brasil, Pindorama, and Cenas Brasileiras. He also collaborated on the soundtrack for the film Mandala alongside Nelson Ayres, Zé Eduardo Nazário, Zeca Assumpção, and Luiz Roberto Oliveira. In 1981, he released his debut solo album under the Som da Gente label, and his second solo record was recorded in Japan and distributed by Eldorado.

In addition to his performance and composition work, Sion has dedicated significant time to music education. He taught saxophone at the Municipal School of Music and the Tom Jobim Study Center between 1994 and 2000. Since its establishment in July 2001, he has served as the principal conductor of the Orquestra Jovem Tom Jobim at the Tom Jobim State School of Music in São Paulo, shaping the future of Brazilian instrumental music.