Hélio Sena

Brazilian conductor, composer, arranger, producer, teacher and music researcher, born on September 21, 1935 in Chapada do Norte - MG, was characterized by his focus and effort in valuing regional Brazilian music and Brazilian folk and popular music. In 1959, he began formally studying music at the Academia Lourenzo Fernandes and at the UFRJ Music School, in Rio de Janeiro. In 1962 he began studies that lasted eight years at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow in the Soviet Union, where he completed a Masters in Theoretical Musicology, developing thesis on "The development of the musical ear in the relative solfege system". Returning to Brazil, he was hired by Chantecler (Gravações Chantecler Ltda.) as a popular arranger. During this period, he also studied Harmony, Instrumentation and Music History at the River Institute and at the Pro-Arte Music Seminars. In 1972, he started teaching Harmony, Arrangements and Chamber Music in the Licentiate and Bachelor's Degree courses at UNI-RIO and his academic career is long, passing through several musical education centers.