BIOGRAPHY

Pianist, arranger, composer and player of several instruments, had his first contacts with music at the age of 5, through his mother, in Ribeirão Preto/SP. Having moved to São Paulo in 1995 entered the School of Communication and Arts at the University of São Paulo. He became better known by the wider public when he received the Visa Prize for Brazilian Popular Music in 1998. Mehmari has been a soloist at important festivals such as the Brazilian Chivas Jazz and the international Spoleto Festival (USA). He has been named one of the outstanding Brazilian musicians and has won prizes both for his classical compositions (Nascente-USP, Camargo Guarnieri Competition and Carlos Gomes Prize) and for his popular music (Visa, Nascente-USP). In 2007 he was awarded the Carlos Gomes Prize in the “revelation” category and was appointed composer-in-residence by the São Paulo State Symphonic Band. He wrote the orchestral music played at the official opening of the 2007 Rio Pan-American Games and one of his works was premiered in Europe by the pianist Maria João Pires.