Erica Mandillo (PT)
World travellers
Universal emotions in songs
- Voices: SSA
- Age: 10-16y
- Difficulty: level B
Erica: "As the Portuguese were in history, we will be world travellers. Our mission: to discover universal emotions in songs all around the world. We will explore the six basic human emotions– joy, sadness, fear, anger, repulsion and surprise – through a musical journey that will take us to different continents, starting in Portugal, my country of origin and a great explorers’ country! Every culture and song has something unique to teach us – the joy and energy of an African piece, the theatricality of an Argentine canon, the delicacy of a Japanese song, the emotional expansiveness of a Brazilian piece or the spirituality of a Portuguese one. We will explore these songs to help us evolve in our own ability to express our emotions. The songs will be in different languages, but the lyrics are easy. Be ready also for moving, dancing and acting, because we are going to create a performance with the new songs we learn!"

Repertoire
Animali parlanti del giorno | Gioachino Rossini |
Cirandeiro | Brasilian dance song - arr. Brad Green |
Tres cantos nativos indios Kraó | Marcos Leite |
O cravo e a rosa | Heitor Villa-Lobos |
Sakura | Japanese traditional - arr. Michael Neaum |
Makumana | Jesús Debón |
Ô bruit doux de la pluie | Christian Legros |
José, Imbela o Menino | Portuguese folk song - arr. André Ruiz |
Conductor
Erica Mandillo’s work with children is based on strong pedagogical views. It is important how the children evolve through singing and discover how they can express emotions. Erica a trained stage director and uses that experience to make original frames or scenes of every piece, sometimes danced, sometimes evoqued, adapted to the space, in the search for a genuine and intense interpretation that infuses the voice of each singer and the sound of the whole, in which emotions flow from one piece to another and from the singers to the audience, in a full and natural way.
Erica Mandillo has an unusual professional background. Master in Biophysics, she trained as a lyric singer and opera director. She was a professional singer at the Gulbenkian’s Choir and at the National Opera of São Carlos’s Choir; she has staged several operas, founded and staged chamber groups and has developed in parallel an intense work with children, its ex-libris being CIUL (Youth and Children’s Choir of the University of Lisbon). Founded 18 years ago by Erica Mandillo, CIUL has a unique language, acknowledged at the various festivals and meetings in which it has participated across Europe and praised for its musical and artistic quality, interaction between pieces and public, originality and unique delivery of its singers. In this context, Erica Mandillo has given several training sessions in Europe and Brazil.
Video's
CIUL - children's choir of the Lisbon University & Piccoli Cantori di Torino
Erica Mandillo conducting two children's choirs.
Coro infanto juvenil da universidade de Lisboa
Part of a concert of Coro Infanto-Juvenil da Universidade de Lisboa, conducted by Erica Mandillo.
Opening concert of a choir festival
CIUL performs at Concerto de abertura do Festival Coros de Verao 2017.