Bio
"A CONSUMATE ARTIST ON THE GUITAR"
DAVID RUSSELL
(GRAMMY AWARD WINNER)
A Brazilian musician of outstanding facility and musical insight, Dr. Costa plays with an enthusiasm and energy that captures his audiences’ imagination and draws them into a world of spontaneous and creative wonder.
First prize winner in the following competitions:
1. Alhambra International Guitar Competition - Dallas (2010)
2. Indiana International Guitar Competition (2010)
3. Sholin Guitar Competition, Tucson, Arizona (2009)
4. Fifth Saint Joseph International Guitar Competition (2007)
5. Portland International Guitar Competition (2007)
6. IV Beeston Guitar Competition (2006)
7. XV Souza Lima Guitar Competition (2004)
8. VIII Musicalis Guitar Competition (2004)
9. XIV Souza Lima Chamber Music Competition (2003)
10. XIII Rising Project – USP – Classical Music Competition. (2003)
Dr. Costa is one of the finest guitarists of his generation, he completed his bachelor’s degree in guitar performance at Brazil’s leading University - The University of São Paulo, under Dr. Edelton Gloeden and also studied with Paulo Porto Alegre and Everton Gloeden at the Escola Municipal de Música (EMM). Subsequently, Costa was awarded a cultural visit to the USA under the sponsorship of the São Paulo United States Consulate General. This trip resulted in a successful audition at the University of Arizona and a full scholarship to pursue both Master's and Doctoral Degrees in Guitar Performance. He was a Teaching Assistant (GTA) to the School of Music at the U of A from 2006 to 2012.
Costa has been invited to perform as a guest artist in major cities such as New York, Dallas, Portland, Houston, Boston, Austin, St. Joseph, São Paulo, Curitiba, and Brasília among others.
In 2008 he was the recipient of the highly competitive Northern Trust/Piper Enrichment Award. Said award is granted annually, in memory of Virginia Piper, to a graduate student in the performing arts “to enhance the student's inspiration, cultural enrichment and research." This award enabled Costa to participate in The Koblenz Guitar Festival and Competition in Germany in May of the same year and to study with several esteemed teachers in Europe. Eighty musicians from around the world participated in the Koblenz International competition; Dr. Costa was among the six finalists, becoming the first Brazilian to achieve such an honor.
Other prior notable achievements include his work as the Outreach Director of the Tucson Guitar Society (TGS) in 2009 and as the Artistic Director in 2010. Costa was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in 2011, won third prize at one of the most renowned and competitive guitar competitions in the world, the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA), and has been a D’Addario endorsed musician since 2010. Dr. Costa was also selected to record a historical CD, utilizing rare guitars from 1900s as part of the University of Arizona Museum of Art Rare Guitars Exhibition.
In early 2011, Costa completed a major project called: "Pathways to Guitar Excellence ©". This is a step-by-step system for achieving results in guitar performance sponsored by the Medici Foundation. Here is what the renowned music educator Dr. Donald L. Hamann had to say about it:
“Dr. Costa’s Pathways to Guitar Excellence (PGE) provides a uniquely exciting and creative conceptual approach that provides guitarists a complete system for the attainment of performance superiority. Not only does Costa’s PGE provide indispensable information necessary for the acquisition of technical expertise, it develops the whole person – mind and spirit!”