Roberto Sion, one of the respected names of Brazilian instrumental music, both as a player and as a composer/arranger, will be performing as a guest artist of the University of Iowa School of Music numerous times between Nov. 6 and 15.

Sion will perform with UI ensembles on the following dates:

• Tuesday, Nov. 6: Band Extravaganza at 7:30 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena (more about this event, including ticket info, can be found here).
• Thursday, Nov. 8: Johnson County Landmark performance at 7:30 p.m. in Riverside Recital Hall (free admission).
• Sunday, Nov. 11: Latin Jazz Ensemble performance at 3 p.m. in Riverside Recital Hall (free admission).
• Thursday, Nov. 15: Performance with faculty and graduate students at 6 p.m. in The Mill in downtown Iowa City (admission is $5; $3 for UI students).

Sion’s work as a reed player (saxophone, flute, clarinet) includes significant tenures with Brazilian icons Hermeto Pascoal and Antonio Carlos Jobim. As a composer, he helped to pioneer the blending of jazz and classical music elements with Brazilian popular music into a style that has become his trademark.

Sion started his piano study at age 5, and at 13, continued with formal studies in saxophone, clarinet, and harmony at the Lavignac Conservatory in the city of Santos. At age 25, after graduating with a degree in psychology at the State University of São Paulo in Campinas (UNICAMP), Sion decided to dedicate himself fully to music and went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. Sion has recorded 14 albums under his own name as an instrumentalist, composer, and arranger.

The School of Music is part of the Division of Performing Arts in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. For accommodations at the concert contact the School of Music at 319-335-1603. For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events visit the new Arts Iowa website.