Clarice Assad

Clarice Assad, born into a distinguished musical lineage, first earned widespread acclaim for her work as a composer while maintaining an active presence as a vocalist, pianist, and arranger across classical, Brazilian, and jazz idioms. She entered the world in Rio Campo, Brazil, close to Rio de Janeiro, on February 9, 1978, into a family of Lebanese descent whose members include her father, the guitarist and composer Sérgio Assad, his brother and duo partner Odair Assad, and her aunt, the singer and songwriter Badi Assad; her parents chose the name in tribute to Brazilian author Clarice Lispector. Piano lessons began at age seven, yet Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome initially restricted her instrumental progress; she compensated by singing and quickly established herself as a child performer of jingles. Gradual improvement allowed formal study with Sheila Zagury, Linda Bustani, and Leandro Braga in Brazil and with Natalie Fortin in Paris after her father relocated there. Several years of work as a theatrical pianist in Rio preceded her move to the United States, where she entered the film-scoring program at Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts, later completing a bachelor’s degree at Roosevelt University in Chicago and a master’s at the University of Michigan under Michael Daugherty. Her first recording as pianist and singer, Invitation, appeared in 2004, the same year violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg commissioned a violin concerto that marked a decisive breakthrough. Although her activities span multiple domains, composition remains her most visible contribution; major orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo have commissioned orchestral scores from her. Works conceived for her own voice include the concerto Scattered for scat singer and orchestra, introduced by the Albany Symphony Orchestra, with which she later served as composer-in-residence; additional residencies took her to the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Among her frequent collaborators are cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and the Turtle Island String Quartet. Several solo albums have appeared under her name, and in 2023 she recorded Soul of Brazil with the Delgani String Quartet for the Avie label.