Brief biography
Born in São Paulo, capital, he has lived in Rio de Janeiro since he was 2 years old, where he began his musical studies at the age of 16, through the flute and piano. After 3.5 years of engineering studies at PUC-Rio with good results, he decided to take a new entrance exam for Music, having been approved in first place, which then led him to decide to withdraw from that course in order to deepen his studies of music. He graduated in Conducting at the School of Music at UFRJ in 1986, where he also defended a Master's thesis in Composition in 1992 with the title "The Implications of Repetition in the Articulation of Musical Discourse", for which he received an A Cum Laude concept. From 1982 onwards, he had works performed in several Biennials, Panoramas and Brazilian Music Festivals, where he also had the opportunity to act as conductor. He directed several choirs, including the Choir of Israeli Institute of Art and Education - where he replaced the Conductor Henrique Morelembaum for two consecutive years -, the Choirs of Shell, Vale do Rio Doce Company, Escola Sá Pereira (school), and the independent vocal group CaraCoro who specialized in his arrangements and compositions. He was also director and conductor of the “Orquestra Oficina”, a Big Band specialized in the performance of pieces commissioned from new Brazilian composers during the 88's and 89's, for which he also composed some pieces. His activity as a composer was always inspired by images. After composing soundtracks for theater, such as Os Meninos da Rua Paulo (The Boys of Paul Street) and Camaleão na Lua (Chameleon on the Moon), this passion was definitely confirmed, which eventually led him to CalArts - California Institute of the Arts - with a grant from CAPES, where he dedicated himself to the research of the relationship between Music, Sound and Image, as well as specializing in technology applied to music/sound between 93 and 96. During this two and a half year period in Los Angeles, he composed several soundtracks for film, animation, dance and video, as well as creating an interactive CD-ROM that extensively explores the meaning relationships between Music and Image. He was awarded a grant from the Academy Foundation of Hollywood to serve as an assistant to Gary Chang, an active composer and soundtrack producer in Los Angeles. On his return to Brazil, Fernando started to work with soundtracks, sound design and audio post production, with participation in several productions, among which we can highlight: Baile Perfumado, O Toque do Oboé, La Serva Padrona, Menino Maluquinho II, A Hora Marcada, O Chamado de Deus, Navio Esperança and O Céu de Iracema, for which he received an award for best soundtrack at the Parati Film Festival - Paracine 2002. He also worked with Cyclophonica (2002-2007), an instrumental group created by Leonardo Fuks, whose members play music while riding bicycles. Between 2007 and 2015, he ministered the subject "Sound of Cinema - from Capture to Realization" at the Cinema School of the Communication Department at PUC/RJ. In 2011 he obtained the Phd title from Unirio - Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, where he defended the thesis entitled "Sing To-Gather ['Com-Junto'] Musical Picnic: Implications of Human Relations in Musical Activity". This research was configured as an unfolding of the proposals initiated in 2007 with the community of parents, students, teachers and employees of Escola Sá Pereira, having then been institutionalized as the extension project at Unirio entitled "Sing To-Gather [Canto Com-Junto] and its Musical Picnics ”, with which he has already produced a significant authorial repertoire, developed in a process of collective creation and construction, in addition to workshops and public events, the "Musical Picnics To-Gather” " (check its project link in the menu of this site). In July 2015, he was approved in a public contest for Adjunct Professor (DE) at Unirio - Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, taking on the following mandatory subjects of the Production Engineering Department - Emphasis on Culture: "Lighting and Photography Engineering" and "Laboratory of Technologies for Cultural Production", aimed at creating and directing short films. At the same time, he also took on different subjects at the CLA, Center for Letters and Arts of the same university, such as: "Musical Practices in Scenic Spaces" and "Voice Laboratory" (Theater School) and "Musicalization Processes" (Musical Education Department of the IVL - Instituto Villa-Lobos), in addition to having institutionalized the project "Sing To-Gather and its Musical Picnics" as an extension project of Unirio. Due to its transdisciplinary vocation, all these disciplines were articulated in some way with the project "Sing To-Gather and its Musical Picnics" with which it promotes regular meetings, workshops and events aimed to the kind reception, inclusion, motivation, integration of any interested person, community or group, towards a musical, artistic, socio-affective and expressive development through the application of music as a language and a mean of communication and expression, without any type of previous selection. Through the company 'CultuArte Desenvolvimentos Ltda', Fernando continues to promote workshops aimed to motivate, integrate and to develop functional teams from companies, organizations and work groups in general, in workshops also based on the concepts and methodologies proposed by the project "Sing To-Gather and its Musical Picnics", conceived and implemented by Fernando Ariani, since 2007.
Academic education
More recent and detailed data can be found at Lattes Cnpq
22007 – 2011 Phd in Music at Unirio - Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro. 1993 - 1995 Advanced Certificate from CalArts – California Institute of the Arts – in Composition/New Media, where he participated in Music-Technology/Multimedia and Cinema Sound courses, and produced several soundtracks and an iunteractive CD-ROM that explores these relationships in depth. 1992 Masters in Musical Composition at the UFRJ School of Music, where in addition to composing several pieces, he defended the thesis on The Implications of Repetition in the Articulation of Musical Discourse. A grade A Cum Lauda was conferred to Fernando by th the examination board which was formed by Guerra Peixe, Ricardo Tacuchian and Heitor Alimonda. 1986 Graduated as Conductor at the UFRJ’s (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) School of Music. 1977 -1986 Harmony and Arrangement of popular music with Ian Guest. Analysis and Composition with Marlene Fernandez, H.J. Koelreutter and Guerra Peixe. Piano with Judith Coccarelli, Irany Leme and Luizinho Eça. Flute with José Maria Braga. 1977 -1980 Engineering at PUC/RJ.
Professional experience
2022 Resumes the direction of the company Cultuarte Desenvolvimentos, created in 1986 to make possible the production of the events of the vocal group CaraCoro and also of his soundtracks and post-production work on film sound. (Note: over time this company has gotten also other names: Ciclos, Imagem e Som and Paragon Sound Design). With all his experience Fernando is always open to engage with new partners interested to reinforce the development of Human Expression through Common Art! 2015-2021 Professor of the Department of Production Engineering (with Emphasis on Culture) at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Unirio), where he ministered subjects “Lighting and Photography Engineering” and “Laboratory of Technologies for Cultural Production”, supervising his students to make short films throughout each semester Professor of “PMEC – Musical Practice in Scenic Spaces”, mandatory subject of the Performance Department the Unirio Theater School. Professor of “PROM – Musicalization Processes” and “PC – Ensemble Practice” at the Instituto Villa-Lobos, Unirio’s School of Music Coordinator of the Extension Project “Sing To-Gather and its Musical Picnics”, a project that started in 2007 in the context of Escola Sá Pereira and institutionalized as an extension project during his time as professor at Unirio University 2007 - 2015 Ministered the subject “Cinema Sound, from Production Sound to Screening” in the Cinema Course of the Department of Communication at PUC Rio 2000 - 2011 In 2001 he was invited back to conduct the Children's Choir at Escola Sá Pereira – from where he left to live in the USA in 1993 – , formed by students from the 4th and 5th grades of Elementary School. 1996 - 2006 Founder, technical manager, sound designer, editor and mixer of Paragon Sound Design, a Sound Creation and Post-Production House for audiovisual projects. Conductor, arranger and music educator of the Sá Pereira School Choiruntil 1993, when he moved to live and work in the USA. Conductor and arranger participating in the Brasília International Festival – 2006 Junior Edition. Conductor and guest arranger of the 2004 RioAcapella Festival. Conductor and guest arranger at Laboratório Coral de Itajubá (Itajubá Choir Laboratory) in 2003 and 2004. One of the members of Cyclophonica, an instrumental group that plays while biking... 1996 - 1st Sem Returns from Los Angeles, USA, where he lived for 2,5 years. Creation of special sound effects for “Tieta”, film directed by Cacá Diegues. Mastering Engineer at Visom Digital where he worked with Sonic Solutions and Mastered several CDs for SONY and PolyGram, as well as worked on the restoration of music by Villa-Lobos, for the Villa-Lobos Museum, Rio de Janeiro, RJ. 1994 - 1995 Received a Hollywood Academy Foundation grant to assist Gary Chang, a film score composer. For one year he participated in the musical production of the following feature films produced by TNT, in all its stages from Spotting to Print Master.: - Avenging Angels, directed by Creg Baxley; - Preston Whitmor's Walking Dead; - Acts of Contrition by Jan Egleson; - AndersonVille by John Frankenheimer. 1988 - 1995 Composed and produced several soundtracks for theater, film, animation, video, documentary, and CD-ROM 1988 -1989 Direction, Production and Conducting of the “Orquestra Oficina”, a Big Band dedicated to the performance of music composed exclusively for the group by the new generation of composers at the time. Fernando composed 3 songs and one arrangement for the Orquestra Oficina 1982 -1993 Created, directed and was hired to conduct several choirs and vocal groups sponsored by various institutions such as: Shell; Vale do Rio Doce Company; the Israeli Institute of Art and Education; Sá Pereira School; the independent vocal group CaraCoro, sponsored by the griffe ‘Company’, in 1985; the BNH – National Housing Bank; and the IFCS-Institute of Philosophy and Social Sciences at UFRJ. 1988 Commissioned to compose one of the confrontation pieces of the 9th Rio de Janeiro Choir Contest, sponsored by Jornal do Brasil. 1987 -1991 Compositions performed at the 7th, 8th and 9th Brazilian Music Biennials. 1986 -1989 Compositions and Conducting activities during the festival ‘Contemporary Brazilian Music Panorama’ at the UFRJ School of Music. 1982 -1985 Compositions performed at the 'New Brazilian Composers and Performers Festival', event of which he was one of the organizers.
Awards, contests and scholarships
2002 ‘Best Music’ award at 'ParaCine 2002 - 1st Parati Film Festival’, RJ - for his work in the film ‘O Céu de Iracema’ 1994 and 1995 Scholarship from the Academy Foundation of Hollywood to intern with Gary Chang, an active film score composer that lives in Los Angeles, USA. 1993 CAPES Scholarship, to undertake a 2-year postgraduate [Advanced Certificate] course at CalArts - California Institute of the Arts, in Los Angeles, USA. 1992 Honorable Mention in the 1st National Composition Competition of SICOM - Society of Interpreters, Composers and Musicologists for the composition of the Symphonic Poem: ‘Agulhas Negras’. 1990 Approved in a public contest to enter the Master's course in Musical Composition at the UFRJ School of Music, with a CAPES scholarship. 1987 Approved in a public contest to work as Assistant Professor of Conducting at UNIRIO – Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State.
