Kicking off this month (March), Brazilian singer-songwriter Aleh Ferreira will be teaching Viola Caipira (Brazilian 10-stringed guitar) to sixteen Year 7 students at Harris Academy, Battersea as part of the World Heart Beat Online Music Programme.
Aleh is best known as the front man of legendary Brazilian funk band Banda Black Rio. His warm, distinctive voice, samba-funk fusion grooves and lyrics that celebrate Afro-Brazilian heritage have earned him a career spanning three decades across the globe. Having also shared the stage with the likes of Ed Motta, Seu Jorge and Daniela Mercury and earning an assortment of national and international awards for his work as a performer but also as a composer for the screen and producer, Aleh is one of the most prominent contemporary musical figures of *musica popular brasileira* in the diaspora.
The course will last eight weeks. All students are beginners and will be learning the basics of the caipira.