José Ananias Souza Lopes

José Ananias (top left) was born in Amapá in 1958, and began his music studies in São Paulo where he graduated in 1979 from the Municipal Music School under the guidance of Jean Noel Saghaard. He studied in Paris with Christian Lardé and Pierre-Yves Artaud, and participated in master classes by Keith Underwood(USA), Wolfgang Schulz(Austria) and Jean-Claude Gerard(France). He was member of the Youth Symphony Orchestra in São Paulo and, in 1985, was admitted to the orchestra of the Municipal Theatre; since 1986 he is a flutist at the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra..

As chamber musician, he was one of the founders of the Wind Quintet of Gramado, a group with whom he has been performing throughout Brazil and abroad, including performances in Portugal in 1988. As a teacher, José Ananias has participated in the major musical festivals of Brazil, including the ones in Curitiba, Belém, Tatuí and Brasília. He taught at the Tatuí Conservatory from 1983 to 1987, and since 1990 he teaches at the Municipal Music School in São Paulo.

He is a champion of contemporary Brazilian music, and participates regularly in the New Music festival of São Paulo. He premiered several works in Brazil, including “Night Flowers”for flute, guitar and tape, by Jonh Winiarz, and the Brazilian premiere of “Folk Pieces” by Luciano Berio, and “Toward the Sea”by Toru Takemitsu.

Since 1999 José Ananias has his own flute seminar in Buenos Aires(Argentina), where during a week he teaches a series of master classes and plays two recitals . On 2001 the seminar will take place in June. In January of 1999 José Ananias gave master classes in SUNY-Purchase and at the Hart School of music in Hatford.

José Ananias played for the first time in the United States of America during the 28th National Flute Convention in Columbus(OHIO), where he presented two recitals together with his flute friend of the São Paulo Symphony, Rogério Wolf.