Death of José Pedro Boéssio

 

It is with profound sadness that we at the LAMC inform you that the Brazilian conductor José Pedro Boéssio, an Indiana University alumnus, died in a car accident in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on 27 January 2001. His son Rafael Montana Boéssio, seven years old, also died at the scene while his daughter, Mariana Montana Boéssio, five years old, died before reaching the hospital. Another daughter, Isabella Montana Boéssio, nine years old, survived the accident and is now at the Hospital de Pronto Socorro (HPS) in the city of Porto Alegre; her condition is improving. In the early afternoon José Pedro Boéssio, fifty-two years old, and his three children were returning home from a visit to his parents when the accident occurred around 2 P.M. Eyewitnesses saw the car hit the left side of a truck, which swerved but was unable to avoid the collision. A candlelight vigil for the bodies took place yesterday, 29 January 2001 at the Anfiteatro Padre Werner of the Universidade Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos). A Mass was celebrated at 6 P.M. by the university dean, Aloysio Bohnen, and the funeral took place at 7 P.M. at the Ecumenical Cemetery of São Leopoldo (Memorial Cristo Rei).

Concurrently with his studies at the Medical School of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), from which he received an M.D. in 1976, José Pedro Boéssio received musical instruction from José Penalva, Henrique de Curitiba, and Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca. In 1978 Boéssio enrolled in the undergraduate program in composition and conducting of the UFRGS, from which he graduated in 1982; Arlindo Teixeira, Roberto Duarte, and John Neschling were among his teachers. Between 1986 and 1987 he studied with Helmuth Rilling in Germany, with a scholarship from the German government, while in 1988 and 1989 he was the principal conductor of the Orquestra de Câmara do Theatro São Pedro in Porto Alegre. Between 1991 and 1995 he worked with the Chicago Civic Orchestra and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. During the 1995-1996 Season he was assistant conductor of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.

José Pedro Boéssio received a M.M. degree in choir conducting and a D.M.A. degree in orchestral conducting from the Indiana University School of Music, having written his dissertation on the music of Villa-Lobos ("Choros No. 10 by Heitor Villa-Lobos: Aesthetic Connections with the Week of Modern Art," 1996). After returning to Brazil from the United States in 1996, he conducted the Orquestra Sinfônica do Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in a concert devoted to Villa-Lobos’s works, the Villa Rizzo Orchestra of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), the Orquestra Sinfônica of the Londrina Festival (Brazil), the Georgia High School Festival Orchestra (United States), and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Mons (Belgium).

Currently, José Pedro Boéssio was the Cultural Coordinator of the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Unisinos) in São Leopoldo, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He had worked for Unisinos for twenty-two years. Boéssio was artistic director and principal conductor of the Orquestra Unisinos of São Leopoldo, which he created in June of 1996. He specialized in the contemporary repertory, emphasizing works by Brazilian and Latin American composers. In the past few years, Boéssio and the Orquestra Unisinos collaborated with performers such as the Canadian Fred Mills, the Brazilians Antônio Del Claro and Hique Gomes, and the American Mark Menzies. In the beginning of 1999 José Pedro Boéssio conducted the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre (OSPA). Last April, the Orquestra Unisinos presented a concert at the historical Jesuit ruins of São Miguel das Missões, with Vítor Ramil, a popular music composer and performer.

Boéssio’s plans for the future included the creation of a regional symphonic orchestra--a project that was growing out of his work with the Orquestra Unisinos--and the project Sinos Acorda, which offered instruction on stringed instruments for children and youngsters from around the region of the Vale dos Sinos. In 2000 he participated in the projects Paralelo 30 and UFRGS-Unisinos. These projects reached some 250 people from all social classes and it was expected that the students would present their première performance in 2001. José Pedro Boéssio aimed at bringing classical music to the general population and many of his concerts were free to the public. He was enthusiastic and passionate about music, his many friends, and all aspects of life. All those who knew José Pedro Boéssio will sorely miss his warm and genuinely captivating personality.

José Pedro Boéssio is survived by his second wife, the artist Ana Montana Boéssio--whom he married after the death of his first wife--and Elisa Lima Boéssio, an older daughter from Boéssio’s first marriage.

Messages of condolence can be sent to the family at:

UNISINOS

To the family of Maestro José Pedro Boéssio

Av. Unisions, 950

Bairro Cristo Rei

CEO — 93022-000

Sao Leopoldo — Rio Grande do Sul

Brazil

Or to the following e-mail address:

jboessio@centauro.unisions.tche.br