The Campus Theatre will host a Brazilian singer, songwriter and former El Camino College student who will perform samba music with her five-piece band on Friday, Sept. 29 at 8 p.m.
Caro Pierotto tours internationally singing samba, reggae, pop and soul music along with her band composed of two guitarists, a pianist and a drummer.
She has performed live at the National Association of Music Merchants show and the Hollywood Bowl. Her first album was in the ballot for a Grammy award in 2012.
Now, at 43, she is excited to return to El Camino for the first time in 25 years, not as a student but as a performer.
“This is like a trip, to be going back [to El Camino] and doing this. Back [when I was a student] I had no idea,” she said.
The vocalist and her band will bring “Sambalismo” to the stage–her newest album dedicated to samba, a Brazilian music genre consisting of percussion, brass and lively rhythms with African roots.
“Samba is an infectious rhythm that you cannot help but move when you listen to it. ‘Sambalismo’ is a celebration about that,” Pierotto said.
Pierotto enrolled at El Camino in 1998 to learn English and general studies, after emigrating from Brazil the same year.
“I remember [El Camino] being very multicultural and I felt very welcomed,” she said.
Pierotto described her musical journey as very “accidental,” discovering her musical passion when she accompanied a friend to choir auditions in Brazil in 2004.
Pierotto wasn’t planning to audition, as she had no musical background. But she gave it a try anyway–not expecting to be accepted into the choir.
From then on, Pierotto continued singing as a hobby and did not pursue a musical career until she was 29.
Pierotto will also host a free workshop called “Samba Theory” on Sept. 28 also at the Campus Theatre from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
At the workshop, Pierotto will discuss the art of samba and its history and will perform a few interactive pieces with her band, where the audience can clap, stomp, and participate in creating rhythms.
Director of the ECC Center for the Arts Rick Christophersen is happy to have Pierotto on campus.
“She’s very energetic [and has] very colorful energy,” he said.
Chair of vocal studies Kevin Blickfeldt looks forward to attending Pierotto’s performance on Friday. Having previously lived in Brazil, he is a big fan of samba and bossa nova music.
“It’s with great pride that we welcome her. And we hope that her performance will inspire [students] to see what can be their own musical endeavors,” he said.
Blickfeldt said many successful alumni have emerged from the El Camino music program, adding that watching students succeed is one of the joys of being a professor.
“When students like [Pierotto] become successful…those are some of the moments that really…are music to our ears,” he said.
Friday’s show will begin at 8 p.m. and will last about 90 minutes with intermission.
Students with a valid ID can purchase tickets for $10 on the Center for the Arts website, in-person at the Marsee Auditorium’s ticket booth, or over the phone at 310-329-5345.
Non-students can purchase tickets for $24.
