The Brazilian Music Experience 2026

The Brazilian Music Experience

Rio de Janeiro, August 20-27, 2026

Pick Your Area of Study: Bossa Nova/Samba or Choro

The Brazilian Music Experience is an opportunity to explore the City of Rio de Janeiro and to interactively learn authentic Brazilian music from some of Rio's top musicians. This will be an unforgettable, week-long, cultural trip and learning tour, with lessons, percussion classes, workshops, and night entertainment highlighting the best of Brazilian music. Included also is an educational city tour, with stunning attractions such as Corcovado and Sugar Loaf.

Non-musicians, spouses, and friends are welcome to come along!

If you love Brazilian music and culture and are a music student, professional musician, or hobbyist, this trip is for you. Come to Rio de Janeiro and have fun learning what makes Brazilian Music so enchanting!

Part of the money raised from this trip goes to a social program, helping teenagers from Rio with free music lessons.

Our Brazilian partner is percussionist Mila Schiavo, who manages the program MUSICAR RIO, and has toured the world performing with many acclaimed acts.

Also helping to teach and organize this trip is Dani Spielmann, saxophonist and choro expert.

Choro emerged in Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century as one of Brazil’s earliest popular music styles. It features fast tempos, complex melodies, and joyful improvisation. Typical instruments include the flute, clarinet, seven-string guitar (violão de 7 cordas), mandolin (bandolim), and cavaquinho, a small guitar that provides rhythmic drive.

Samba, developed in the early 20th century, is Brazil’s most iconic rhythm—energetic, percussive, and deeply tied to Carnival. It’s built around instruments like the pandeiro, surdo, tamborim, and cuíca, often accompanied by guitars and cavaquinho. Samba’s infectious groove and call-and-response vocals make it a symbol of Brazilian joy and community.

In the late 1950s.

Bossa nova emerged as a more relaxed, sophisticated evolution of samba. It combines gentle rhythms with jazz-influenced harmonies and poetic lyrics. Hallmark instruments include the nylon-string guitar, piano, light percussion, and soft vocals, as heard in classics by João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim.

Together, choro, samba, and bossa nova showcase the richness of Brazilian music—rhythmic, melodic, and full of emotion.

Costs Include:

7 nights in a Superior Room (Selected hotel) with Breakfast
Airport / Hotel Transfers
Classes and Night entertainment Transfers
Night entertainment tickets
1 Welcome Dinner
1 City Tour to Corcovado and Sugar Loaf with lunch included

For Musicians:

5 Day workshop - 3 hours per day, total of 15 hours of group classes

Not included:

International Flights to Brazil
Visas to Brazil
International Health Insurance
Food and Beverages (unless listed)

Ensembles:

Bossa Nova/Samba

Instrumental Ensemble
Vocalist Ensemble

Choro

Choro Ensemble for Melodic Instruments + Roda de Choro
Choro Ensemble for Harmonic Instruments + Roda de Choro
Choro Ensemble for Percussion Instruments + Roda de Choro

OBS: If you`re a singer and want to join the Choro Ensemble for Melodic Instruments, there will be no lyrics.

You`ll have to sign up for one of the ensembles when signing up for the trip. There`s a limited number of seats for each ensemble.

Classes will be divided into 3 hours daily for 5 Days:

3 Hours with sectionals and ensembles

Coffee Break in the Middle

Please check the links to learn more about the hotels:

Savoy Othon

Rio Othon Palace

Costs per person in USA Dollars:

Savoy Othon Hotel - a few blocks from the beach - Copacabana

Single Musician

$2,860

Single non-musician

$2,475

Double Musician

$2,365

Double non Musician

$1,980

Rio Othon Palace - beachfront- Copacabana

Single Musician

$3,685

Single non-musician

$3,300

Double Musician

$2,695

Double non Musician

$2,310

💡 Suggestion for free time:

Ground Transportation will be in a van with air conditioning.

*Itineraries and arranged sightseeing are subject to change at any time due to unforeseen circumstances or circumstances beyond The Brazilian Music Experience / Morningside Music Tours control. Every effort will be made to operate tours as planned, but alterations may occur after the final itinerary has been issued.

Starting on January 10, 2024, the Brazilian government resumed entry visa requirements for citizens of four countries, including the United States. The other countries are Japan, Australia, and Canada.

Payment Schedule and Cancellation Policy:

Prices are subject to change if the exchange rate drops below R$ 4.50 per USD$ 1.00
After your booking will send you a form so you can choose your ensemble.
The tour itinerary can change due to unforeseen circumstances like severe weather, technical malfunctions, as well as operational reasons such as port closures or changes in local regulations.
The final schedule with all class details will be sent a month before the trip starts.
Minimum of 10 participants and maximum of 30.

Social Project we support: MUSICAR RIO

FORM OF PAYMENT:

30% by January 5, 2026

60% by March 5th, 2026

100% by May 5th

Sign-ups after May 5th, 26

You can join until Aug 5th, 2026, but please ask if there`s room available and if the costs are the same.

Percussionist Mila Schiavo believes that when you love a music style, you have to experience the culture where the rhythm came from. That’s why she developed “The Brazilian Music Experience”, so that people can learn and listen to the music where it started in Brazil. Mila manages "Musica para Crescer" (Music to Growth), a nonprofit music project that teaches kids and teenagers in Rio de Janeiro, and has toured the world performing with many acclaimed acts. She graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and has an MBA from PUC - Rio de Janeiro.

Saxophonist Dani Spielmann is also a composer, arranger, educator, and researcher who has that rare gift of being able to inspire her students to fall in love with Choro. Through her warm and joyous approach to teaching, Dani has developed a loyal following of students worldwide. Her accomplishments are many, and include the release of 12 solo CDs, including one that was nominated for a Latin Grammy

Dan Fox, the owner of Morningside Tours, plays trombone, bass, and percussion and will be along on this fantastic trip to help coordinate and also continue to learn about the vast world of Brazilian music.

Overview

About your trip