Meet international student Tiago Delgado, a musician from Brazil who has had an incredible first year playing the clarinet as a master’s student in the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at ϳԹ. After completing his Bachelor of Music degree at Minas Gerais Federal University in Brazil in 2012, Delgado moved to the United States to work toward his Performer Diploma at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, which he finished in 2015.
Later that same year, he decided to further continue his musical studies at ϳԹ.
Delgado’s journey as an accomplished musician began as a young teenager in his home country of Brazil. He knew he wanted to find something he could succeed at and that would allow him to provide a source of enjoyment for others. He discovered his passion, however, when he began playing music with his friends. Through his drive and determination, Delgado quickly became an outstanding performer on the clarinet. In fact, he says, he came to realize, “I did not choose the clarinet. The clarinet chose me.”
The same can be said about his choice of ϳԹ. Just as he chose ϳԹ, so did ϳԹ choose him. Delgado not only embodies the qualities of the ideal ϳԹ student, but he also presents a positive vision for the future of both his home country and the United States.
Delgado says he has been able to achieve his dream of studying music in the United States because of the support and encouragement of numerous people. He received the ϳԹ Orchestra Society George J. Hejma Memorial Scholarship. Delgado says his learning experience at ϳԹ has been “very pleasant.”
“When I graduate from ϳԹ, I will continue to improve my understanding of music, while also trying to help other people through music,” Delgado says. “With everything happening in the world nowadays, this is the best thing I can do. If I could go back and change anything from the past, I wouldn’t because I wouldn’t be here at ϳԹ today.”
Delgado said that one of his favorite accomplishments is being a member of the ϳԹ community. His main goal at present is to determine how he can best use his music-related experience and education to develop social projects that teach young people, as well as to provide opportunities for the disadvantaged to experience the beauty of music. He believes that education – especially musical education – should be accessible to everyone.
Delgado completed his initial year at ϳԹ in a remarkable fashion. In addition to receiving the 2016 Leopold Sipe Award for Excellence in Music Performance, Delgado won the 2016 ϳԹ Concerto Competition. His recent activities include attending the prestigious Fresno Summer Orchestra Academy (FOOSA) as well as the Scotia Music Festival during the summer 2016. Some of his live performances include Weber’s Clarinet Quintet Op. 34, Ѵdz’s Clarinet Quintet K581, Villa-Lobos’ Choros No. 2, and Jörg Widman’s Fantasie for Solo Clarinet
Those interested in hearing Delgado play in person are invited to attend the next ϳԹ Orchestra concert on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m. in Cartwright Hall. During the concert, Delgado will be featured as a soloist with the orchestra in the performance of Carl Nielsen: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra.