Prolific, vigorous, and profoundly expressive on his instrument, violinist Nathan Amaral presents a surprising counter profile in conversation. The rhythms and tempos of his speech are slower, occasionally even hesitant — indicative of a person carefully weighing each word, focused on accurately describing the voice of a violin. Amaral projects a strong sense that the universal, unifying power of music is best delivered by wood and strings, brass and percussion instruments, and other physical modes of creating audible art.
But when the award-winning musician shifts the discussion to externals — the Estação Primeira de Mangueira samba school in Brazil that transformed his life at age 12, the Week of Musical Integration festival he founded in 2021, or the program Amaral will perform on Oct. 25 presented by Four Season Arts in Berkeley — his responses are declarative, assertive, immediate.
After growing up in the Mangueria favela of Rio de Janiero and studying music in both Brazil and Europe, Amaral graduated from the New England Conservatory having received a full scholarship and mentorship by violinist Donald Weilerstein.
Amaral was the first prize winner of the 2024 Sphinx Competition and recently received the Grand Prize of both the Concert Artist Guild (CAG) and Young Concert Artist Trust (YCAT) competitions. Earning strong positive reviews and winning competitions has increased his visibility, as have engagements as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and others.
For his upcoming concert at Berkeley Piano Club on Haste Street, the program includes delightful variety: violin sonatas by Claude Debussy Leopoldo Americo Miguez, Mozart, and Edward Elgar, and Francisco Paulo Mignone’s Valsa de Esquina No. 2.
Amaral said he chose the works of two famous Brazilian composers, Miguez and Mignone, deliberately. “We have a diverse group of composers in Brazil the world might not know yet. It brings me joy to bring these pieces to life in different places.”
Amaral said Miguez’s violin sonata has a French style with beautiful qualitative changes and playful explorations of texture. “It reminds us of the French style of Debussy and it’s gorgeous. It’s a bit long, but it doesn’t feel long because it’s so well written. You just sit back and enjoy it.”
Amaral will play a transcription for violin of Mignone’s waltz, a work originally written for piano. “This piece is one of many valsa in the styles of lamento and tinitalli that are common in Brazil. We have those even in pop culture, in bossa nova, in other musical genres. It’s almost like we’re always happy, but with a tear in our eyes. It’s a beautiful combination of vulnerability and passion.”
Prior to his introduction to music at Mangueira, the educational program created to provide music instruction to children living in high-risk communities where crime and drug abuse proliferate, the Amaral household wasn’t particularly musical.
“It was just me, my sister, and my mom. It was a quiet house. Although, I was actually hyperactive with my outside activities, like a normal kid. I played soccer, ran around, did lots of activities. There was sometimes music in the house — bossa nova and Brazilian —but I didn’t have a link to any classical instruments.”
Brazil is nonetheless culturally rich and Amaral says the influence of Escola de Samba (schools in which samba is taught and festivals are presented) resulted in an energetic, pulsating backdrop to daily life. “It is rhythmically heavy and most kids grow up with it all around them.”
Amaral’s mother is his superhero. “She was very young when she conceived me and [she] taught me well. She was an example of resilience and bravery. She always told me to study, study, study, and learn as much as you can because people can take away your money, your home, everything, but they can’t take away your knowledge. Knowledge is power.”
In 2025, Amaral said music education is not the priority of Brazil’s government, a country emerging from political and economic crisis. “But art is also quality of life and learning how live in society, learning about yourself, how to work with your colleagues, and developing the part of the brain you wouldn’t otherwise,” Amaral said. “It’s extremely important we have more schools and things related to music education. To really study classical music, people have to move to São Paulo or go abroad. That’s what I did.”
Amaral studied in Salzburg, Mozart’s hometown for four years during his early 20s. The Elgar piece was selected because he recently moved to the UK. “I’m now based in London and it’s inspiring to play something that relates to where I’m living at the moment.”
The rewards of honoring his history and sharing with audiences the cultural and musical traditions that surround his life are equaled only by the immense pleasure he takes in the festival he founded. Semana de Integração Musical (Week of musical integration) and its programs provide music education for young musicians in Brazil, regardless of their backgrounds.
