Students from Orquestra Maré do Amanhã enter federal university and join Brazil’s top youth orchestra, showing what opportunity can do.
Two milestones arrived at once for one of Brazil’s most remarkable social projects. Maria Eduarda Paz (flute) and Andressa Lelis (viola), both trained by Orquestra Maré do Amanhã, have been accepted into the music degree program at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Meanwhile, founding students Pither Bazaga (violin) and Vinícius Pereira (double bass) were selected for the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra Youth Ensemble (OSB Jovem), one of the country’s most prestigious orchestral training programs.
Together, these achievements mark a turning point for a project born inside one of Brazil’s largest favela complexes — and now recognized as an international model for music education and social change.
Born from Tragedy
The orchestra’s story begins with an act of violence. In 1999, Maestro Armando Prazeres was kidnapped and murdered in Rio de Janeiro. His son, journalist Carlos Eduardo Prazeres, learned the crime had been carried out by a resident of the Maré Complex. Rather than responding with hatred, he chose a different path.
“When my father was killed, I decided violence would not have the last word. The music he loved so much would be the way to transform that community. That’s how Orquestra Maré do Amanhã was born — to show that talent can flourish anywhere. All it takes is opportunity, care, and love.” — Carlos Eduardo Prazeres, founder and director of Orquestra Maré do Amanhã
Since its founding, the project has directly reached more than 17,000 children and young people. In 2023, it was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Rio de Janeiro.
A Pipeline to Professional Music
The selection of Bazaga and Vinícius Pereira also reflects results from an advanced training program launched in 2025. Designed for musicians over 25 who want to pursue professional careers or higher education in music, the program provides guidance from professors at Brazilian and international universities, along with English classes to expand global opportunities.
The reach already extends beyond Brazil. Violinist Melquisedeque Osborne, also trained at Maré, was recently accepted into the Dublin Symphony Orchestra in Ireland.
“When we see students reaching university or being selected for professional orchestras, we realize the cycle is completing itself. Music opens real paths to the future. These are stories that show how far these young people can go when they find opportunity.” — Carlos Eduardo Prazeres
The Numbers Behind the Mission
In 2025, the orchestra directly served more than 4,000 children and youth, 85% of them Black or mixed-race. The largest age group is 4 to 7 years old. When family reach is counted, the indirect impact surpasses 12,000 people in a community of roughly 140,000 residents.
Programming totals more than 3,100 hours of classes per year, covering strings, winds, choral singing, music theory, and orchestral practice. Students also perform in 80 educational concerts annually at public schools across the city.
World Stages, Favela Roots
The orchestra has performed for Pope Francis at the Vatican in 2017 and 2024, appeared at Rio’s New Year’s Eve concert in Copacabana alongside Anitta before 2.5 million people, played the Favela Stage at Rock in Rio 2019, and marched with the drum section of samba school Beija-Flor de Nilópolis at the Sambadrome in 2016.
Operating across 30 public schools in Maré, the project runs eight artistic divisions, including the award-winning Camerata Jovem, named Best Orchestra in Brazil in 2019 and 2021. It also runs two satellite programs in Porto Trombetas, in the Amazon state of Pará, serving riverside and quilombola communities.
The project’s story is told in the book “Concerto para um sonho” (Concert for a Dream) by journalist Hérica Marmo, published by Máquina de Livros, and in the 2018 documentary “Contramaré”, directed by Daniel Marenco.
Event Info
- Orquestra Maré do Amanhã — Maré Complex, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Satellite programs in Porto Trombetas, Oriximiná, Pará (Amazon region)
- More than 17,000 people directly impacted since founding
- 44 direct jobs generated by the project
- Master sponsor: Petrogal
- Supporters: Santander, State Grid Brazil Holding, Assim Saúde, Dasa, Ecoponte, Parnaíba Transmissora de Energia, Teles Pires Transmission, BMTE, Grupo Urbam, and the Rio de Janeiro City Hall
