Brazilian master of the guitar Sergio
Assad pays tribute through music to his
family roots in Lebanon.
Brazil has the world’s largest community of people with Lebanese heritage. They have made great contributions in all areas of life in Brazil. One of the most distinguished is classical guitarist Sergio Assad. With his brother Odair, performing as the Assad Brothers, he has been part of a highly acclaimed guitar duo. They were described in The Washington Post as “the best two-guitar team in existence, maybe even in history...” Some of the most renowned composers for the guitar, such as Astor Piazzolla, have written music especially for them. As a composer himself, Sergio Assad has written many works which have become standards in the guitar repertoire. He has also composed many works for orchestra, and made arrangements of classical pieces which have been recognized as extending the possibilities of the guitar duo. As a performer, he has collaborated with some of the world’s finest musicians, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The Assad Brothers played on a 2008 album with Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace) which earned a Grammy Award. They have also won a number of Latin Grammys for their work, among many other honours. Sergio has been a celebrated teacher as well, giving master classes to students across the world. He is currently on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In recent years Sergio has become interested in exploring his own heritage, and the traditions that connect him to Lebanon. He expressed these ideas in a project titled Da Volta as Raizes (Back to
Our Roots). In a special statement he has
prepared for CedarWorld, he tells us what this project has meant to him: