Glêsse Collet

Viola

Brazilian violist Glêsse Collet immigrated to the U. S. in 2016. Born in Rio de Janeiro, she moved to Brasilia as a child and spent most of her professional career there. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Brasília. Her MM degree in violin performance is from the Musik Hochschule in Detmold where she studied with Ernst Mayer-Schierning and her PhD in Viola performance is from the Federal University of Bahia, with a thesis on “Tuning in String Instruments (Violin and Viola)”. In 1974 she was a top-prize winner at the "Jovens Solistas" competition in Piracicaba, São Paulo. In 1983 she won the position of principal viola in the Symphony Orchestra of Teatro Nacional de Brasília (Brazil) where she played for 5 years. She has played as viola soloist with conductors Claudio Santoro, Oswaldo Colasso, Gerald Kegelmann, Piero Bastianelli, Elena Herrera and Claudio Cohen. As a member of the Quarteto de Brasília, she has performed throughout Brazil and all over the world. The Quartet has represented Brazil at performances in embassies in many countries and she has performed for high-ranking dignitaries including the Presidents of Brazil, Portugal, Germany and the United States, and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Critically acclaimed recordings by the Quarteto de Brasilia have received the Sharp Prize for the “best classical music CD” in 1993, the OK Prize in 1995, the Federal District Cultural Merit Order Award in 2001 and the 9th Carlos Gomes Prize for Classical Music in the category “Best Chamber Music Ensemble of the Year”, in 2004. Collet is also featured on a solo disc of works by Brazilian composers. In 2008, Collet toured for 40 days in the U.S. with Branford Marsalis as principal viola from an all-Brazilian Orchestra. Glesse Collet recently retired from the faculty of the Music Department at the University of Brasília where she taught Viola, Violin, Chamber Music and String Orchestra. She founded the University of Brasília String Orchestra in January 2002. The group is composed of students from the Music Department of the University of Brasilia and focuses on the exploration and dissemination of the repertoire for string orchestras, with particular emphasis on Brazilian music. It is a conductor less ensemble that often features dancers and other choreographed selections. She has worked as a sabbatical replacement for Violin and Viola in the Music Department from the Wyoming University and regularly plays Chamber Music in the Rocky Mountain region.