Teaching Assistant in Collaborative Piano
Renan Branco is a Brazilian collaborative pianist and vocal coach currently based in Austin, Texas. His passion for chamber music and innovative performance possibilities has led him to numerous festivals, masterclasses and ensembles in the past 12 years.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the School of Communications and Arts at University of São Paulo (2014). As an undergraduate, he was involved in multiple activities: youth orchestras, choirs, conducting classes, piano teaching and chamber music performances. In January 2016, he had his orchestra soloist debut with Sāo Pedro Theater Orchestra, where he performed Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue”.
From 2015-2021, Renan worked actively as a versatile collaborative pianist. As an opera rehearsal pianist, he worked in two of Brazil’s most prestigious theaters in a wide range of operas, including works by Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Massenet, Stravinsky, Zemlinsky, Cilea, Korngold, Strauss, Wagner, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Britten and Catán. As a matter of fact, his passion for opera began with the production of Rossini’s "Il Viaggio a Reims" in 2014 in Guarulhos, in which he also played harpsichord during the shows.
Prior to coming to Texas in 2021, Renan was an active chamber music performer and collaborative pianist, working mostly with choirs and ballet classes in Manaus, northern Brazil. Most recently, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a master’s degree in collaborative piano performance. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in the same university, where he serves as a graduate teaching assistant of Dr. Colette Valentine. In the 2023-24 school year, he is also participating as a rehearsal pianist for the Butler Opera Center's 20th anniversary productions of Puccini's "La Bohème" and Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades".