Photo above: The Festa de São Joao, the Brazilian version of “European Midsummer.” At its origin, the festival celebrates the end of the rainy season and gave thanks to the saints for the year’s rainfall.
MSM alumnus Rob Buonaspina (MM ‘20)
ABOUT ROB BUONASPINA
Rob Buonaspina is an NYC-based music director, pianist, violist, arranger, composer, and educator. A graduate of Jim McNeely’s Jazz Composition master’s program at MSM, Rob serves as Music Director of Fourth Universalist Society (Manhattan), Assistant Music Director at St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church (Woodside, Queens), Pianist for Temple Am Echad (Lynbrook, NY), and Adjunct Professor of Jazz Arranging and Orchestration at Hofstra University (Hempstead, NY). He is also the violist in Forró Sem Palavras led by Brazilian composer Rafael Piccolotto de Lima.
Last month, on a whim—and with some encouragement from friends—Rob sent an informal video clip from one of his Instagram stories of a Brazilian-style “festa junina” party he hosted at his apartment to a few media outlets in Brazil. What may have started as a casual share turned into something much more: two in-depth feature stories about his musical work appeared in major Brazilian publications—Folha de Pernambuco and Taís Paranhos’ culture blog, which are widely read in Recife and beyond. Major news outlets Recife Ordinario and Blog Nayara Vila Nova additionally shared the Instagram story, garnering tens of thousands of views.
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The news features explore how Rob’s exposure to Brazilian music—particularly through his time at MSM and his mentorship with Rogério Boccato (pictured below)—sparked a deep, ongoing connection with the music and culture of Northeast Brazil.
They touch on the forró and frevo traditions he now regularly performs (and has even taught his university arranging students at Hofstra), the São João parties he organizes in New York, and his work as an educator who integrates Brazilian repertoire into jazz and composition curricula.
MSM Jazz Arts faculty member Rogério Boccato played a large role for Rob Buonaspina in inspiring a deep connection with the music of Northeast Brazil.
Given how central MSM was to this journey—especially the formative influence of Rogério’s classes—this was clearly a meaningful story to highlight in an MSM alumni feature. It illustrates not just a personal artistic path, but also how cross-cultural music studies at MSM can spark truly global, unexpected careers.
In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Rob hosts a celebration of Northeast Brazil’s Festival Junina, also known as São João. Musicians: Daniel Silva on Zabumba, Anne Boccato on Triangle, Lucas Cypriano on Accordion, João Felipe da Fraga on violin (unpictured), Tal Yahalom on Acoustic Guitar, Rob on viola
Read the interviews from Folha de Pernambuco (translated) and Taís Paranhos at the bottom of this page to discover Rob’s story and the integral role Brazilian music plays in his life, in part due to his introduction to this rich milieu from his time as an MSM student.
Ed. Note: The usage of the text and translations in this blog post have been authorized by Rob Buonaspina, Folha de Pernambuco, and Taís Paranhos; the interviews were conducted exclusively in Portuguese.
(Click HERE for the original Portuguese feature. Translation below.)
By Paula Bacelar | June 18, 2025
Nearly 6,800 kilometers from Recife—where the São João festivities have been animating the capital of Pernambuco since last Thursday (June 15)—New York City hosted a special celebration infused with the rhythm and tradition of Northeastern Brazilian culture.
The initiative came from Robert Buonaspina, an American musician and educator, who organized the event. This was Robert’s second time hosting a São João celebration inspired by the music and cuisine of Pernambuco. For him, the effort is “an authentic and heartfelt way to showcase the full beauty of Pernambuco.”
Featuring a live forró trio and a table filled with traditional junina foods (including two kinds of bolo de rolo), the party took place on June 13 in an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Speaking with Folha de Pernambuco, Buonaspina shared how his relationship with the São João festivities began.
While pursuing his master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music, he studied Brazilian music as part of his training. Through that experience, Rob—affectionately called by many—fell in love with Northeastern genres like forró, xote, and baião.
“I’ve been to Brazil four times—twice to Recife—where I connected deeply with musicians and also with the traditions of São João. Every now and then, I also play viola in a forró group here in New York, so keeping that spirit alive is very important to me!”
During the pandemic, Robert began studying Portuguese seriously, but it wasn’t until his first trip to Brazil in 2022 that he truly began to deepen his language skills.
“It would be a dream to pursue a longer-term study in Brazil or participate in an exchange where I could teach jazz or contemporary music while learning even more about Brazil’s vast, beautiful, and diverse musical landscape,” he shared.
Robert has now visited Pernambuco twice and holds a deep affection for the state.
“I was so happy to connect with Recife during my visits and to make so many friends, both through musicians I met in other parts of Brazil and directly in the city.”
When it comes to organizing the São João event, Robert says the idea came from the strong sense of connection he feels with the music and culture of Pernambuco.
“It’s a project made entirely with love and in the spirit of community,” he said.
“It brings out in me a deep feeling of belonging—a sense of home—even though I wasn’t born into it, but rather gradually adopted it over the past six years. Recife and Pernambuco hold a very special place in that process. In many ways, they represent what’s most welcoming and genuine about Brazil. And of course, I’m in love with Northeastern desserts—especially bolo de rolo!”
Beyond the São João celebrations, Robert is also committed to bringing Brazilian music to American audiences. He has led workshops on the subject at the church where he works as music director and curator. At the university where he teaches, he makes a point of highlighting Brazilian composers and arrangers in his curriculum.
“In the U.S., there’s often a lack of direct exposure to the depth and richness of Brazilian culture, and I take great joy in doing my part to celebrate and promote all that is so beautiful about Brazil—especially Recife.”
“My hope is to continue hosting this celebration every year—maybe even twice a year—as a way of continuing to honor and share the beauty of Pernambuco with the world,” he concluded.
Click HERE for the original Portuguese feature.
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