Deanna receives a Sacatar Institute Fellowship!

February news: I've received a residency fellowship from the Sacatar Institute in Itaparica, Bahia, Brazil! I'll be spending two months at Sacatar (dates TBA) to work on my new Brazilian project, the Nossa Senhora Suite.Nossa Senhora Suite merges Afro-Brazilian expressions of the Virgin Mary with jazz composition, culminating in public performances and a new album featuring my jazz quartet plus voices. Each movement will explore a different Brazilian manifestation of Mary, including Nossa Senhora Aparecida, patron saint of Brazil, and Iemanjá, goddess of the seas. NSS will combine regional rhythms, melodic lines, or songs associated with Mary with newly composed music for my instrumental jazz quartet: soprano/tenor sax, piano, bass and drums; auxiliary percussion; and four vocalists.Nossa Senhora Suite is a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) fiscally sponsored project. Click here for the project timeline as well as on how you can make a tax deductible contribution.Photo credit: Jason Gardner Photography