ABERTURA FESTIVA (FESTIVE OVERTURE) Ballad for Symphonic Band by FERNANDO DEDDOS (Brazil, 1983)
[#372] Sep 07, 2026
Brazil | 2026 | Wind Band | Grade 4 | 4'40" | Overture
Premiered by Municipal Wind Orchestra of Lençóis Paulista
– “Maestro Agostinho Duarte Martins.”
conducted by Marcelo Maganha on Jul 21, 2026 in Teatro Municipal Rio de Janeiro
Available for purchase at Fernando Deddos
Abertura Festiva (Festive Overture), by Brazilian composer, euphonium performer, and professor Fernando Deddos, is our Composition of the Week.
Bearing the subtitle Ballad for Symphonic Band, the work was composed in 2026 and dedicated to the Municipal Wind Orchestra of Lençóis Paulista – “Maestro Agostinho Duarte Martins.” It was written especially for the 21st WASBE International Conference, held in Rio de Janeiro in July 2026.
Abertura Festiva received its world premiere on July 21, 2026, performed by the Municipal Wind Orchestra of Lençóis Paulista under the direction of Marcelo Maganha, opening the 21st WASBE Conference.
This recording has been donated by Mark Custom. To purchase the entire performance visit http://www.markcustom.com/
“The work is loosely inspired by Shostakovich's piece of the same name, incorporating subtle thematic quotes, formal influences, and orchestrations that recall Shostakovich's music—particularly through its use of the brass section and traditional percussion featuring the xylophone exclusively. However, the piece lies within a progressive minimalist framework, divided into blocks or sections that evolve and build toward the next section, juxtaposing various thematic cells, repeating and transforming. While lacking a fixed key, it offers perspectives of pitch centralization, modes, and harmonic fields, bypassing the need for conventional or definite resolutions. The fanfares introduced and reiterated across the brass sections present a simple theme derived from a lullaby originally written to soothe a child to sleep. This gives way to a "ballad" theme—infused with a Brazilian flavor, cantabile in style, reminiscent of a Brazilian carnival song march with syncopated rhythms and cultural influences. Tensions are subtly veiled, building heightened complexity from the micro to the macro level between the lines. An "annunciation" unfolds into a lyrical procession or cortege, which evolves before requiring a meditative "pause" at its center—much like a stone in the middle of the road. This is followed by a fugue, culminating in increasingly infectious rhythms with a continuous accelerando. The presto agitato invokes a Beethovenian practice in dialogue with Shostakovich, as if acknowledging the profound depth of traditional Brazilian rhythms, such as the “caboclinho”. The final chorales and fanfares deliver a powerful symphonic impact through a blend of earlier themes, leading into a final prestissimo that culminates in a Coda that accelerates even further, utilizing homorhythms to reach eventual "concordance" on a final unison.” Program Notes by Fernando Deddos
Abertura Festiva is scored as follows:
Pic., Fl. 1,2, Ob. 1,2, Eng. H., Bassoon 1,2, Eb Cl., Cl. 1,2,3, Alto Cl., Bass cl., A. Sax 1,2, T. Sax, B. Sax, Trpt. 1,2,3,4, F. Horn 1,2,3,4, Tbn. 1,2,3,4, Euph., Tuba, Db. Bass, Xyloph., Timp., Perc. 1,2,3.
It has a duration of almost 5 minutes, and it is available directly from the composer.
Dr. Fernando Deddos is a professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) and the coordinator of both the UFRN Choro Ensemble (Roda de Choro da UFRN) and the UFRN Symphonic Band. In 2010, he released EuFonium Brasileiro, the first euphonium album in the country, awarded Best Album of the Biennium by the International Tuba Euphonium Association (ITEA). Focused on promoting Brazilian music, he performs as a soloist, composer, and professor in festivals and residencies worldwide, including the SESC International Music Festival, where he has been teaching for 12 years.
His compositional work has earned international awards from organizations such as ITEA and the International Trumpet Guild. He has also served on composition competition juries for ITEA, Trombonanza, Gramado in Concert, the Leonard Falcone Festival (USA), and the Spanish Association of Euphoniums and Tubas. His Concertino for Oboe was commissioned by Christoph Hartmann of the Berlin Philharmonic and premiered in Prague in 2017. His award-winning Concerto for Euphonium was performed by the U.S. Army Symphony in 2020. In 2021, he released the album Chamber Works for Brass and Guests, featuring international brass artists, and was recently featured on the Porto Alegre Symphony Orchestra (OSPA) album performing the Concerto Grosso for Brass Quintet and Orchestra, which earned highlights in Concerto magazine. In December 2022, his Concerto for Horn premiered in Spain, and his chamber works continue to be performed at major international brass conferences and used as pedagogical material in universities. The piece for symphony orchestra Images (Poem) was commissioned by the Jaraguá Philharmonic in 2025. The compositional routine also brings contrasting and several pieces of chamber music, including recordings around the world. In 2026, Deddos composed the Abertura Festiva for Wind Band (WASBE 2026) and Sailing is Necessary to piano for hands and Symphony Orchestra, premiered in China by the UFRN Philharmonic (September 2026).
As a euphoniumist and pianist, he performs in chamber choro projects such as Duo Bombardas and Duo Grego, both of which have performed in Brazil and the U.S. at major field events like the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference, and ClarinetFest . As a conductor, he is a guest clinician for academic symphonic ensembles at conferences. His Choro music group is called “Choro em Contraponto”.
In 2023, he was a guest professor at Isla Verde Bronces in Argentina and Penn State University in the U.S. In 2024, he served as a juror for the Jeju International Brass and Percussion Competition in South Korea—one of the premier competitions in the brass field—and premiered his piece Imagens with the Jaraguá do Sul Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2025, he premiered Earth Rhythms for euphonium, tuba, and Symphonic Band at the 40th International Leonard Falcone Festival during the Blue Lake Festival (Michigan).
Deddos holds a Bachelor’s degree in Composition and Conducting from UNESPAR, a Master’s degree in Performance from Duquesne University (Pittsburgh), and a Doctorate in Music from the University of Georgia (USA), where he served as a researcher at the interdisciplinary program Ideas for Creative Exploration. He is the president of the Brazilian Euphonium and Tuba Association (ETB) and has been a ZO Performing Artist since 2025.
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