About Minas
Minas’ longevity speaks for itself. With over four decades performing in a variety of formats, their professionalism and versatility, from the duo to ensemble, to orchestra and big band, has placed Minas in high demand. From small intimate settings to large venues, Orlando and Patricia have enchanted audiences with their magical and unique sound, artistry and warmth, where the poetry of their lives is heard in every note. Minas reflects a perfect musical marriage with a stage presence and chemistry that only a lifetime can produce.
Minas takes Brazilian and American roots to create a sound that is fresh and innovative, from ballads tinged with melancholic traits of Blues and Choro, to Folk coasting on the subtle coolness of a Bossa Nova pulse, to upbeat Sambas elaborated with instrumental jazz improvisation, scat singing and whimsical whistling. With a catalogue of 8 recordings released on their label Bluezul and a collection of over 100 songs, Orlando and Patricia’s compositions have been compared to classics by Cole Porter and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Capturing the essence of great songwriting with memorable melodies, inventive harmonies, and poetic lyrics, the music of Minas is engaging and timeless.
Orlando Haddad and Patricia King formed Minas in 1978 at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. They proceeded to play all over the eastern United States before moving to Brazil, where they lived, entertained and traveled, absorbing the essence of Brazilian culture. In 1984 Orlando and Patricia returned to the United States and raised a family while performing and recording extensively, building their reputation as one of the most sought-after Brazilian groups of its kind. Multi-talented as composers, vocalists and instrumentalists, and equally comfortable in Brazilian festive music and jazz, folk and classical genres, Minas' various performance styles have placed them in front of every kind of audience and venue.
Watch “Only the Moon and the Stars”
Orlando Haddad
Orlando brings a wealth of influences not only from his country of Brazil as a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and arranger, but from his classical background as well. A native of Lavras, in the state of Minas Gerais, Orlando has been a bandleader since the age of 12 and studied classical piano before moving to Rio de Janeiro, where he attended the Villa-Lôbos Institute and studied classical guitar.
In 1974 he came to the US to study music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he met Patricia, and graduated with a degree in Composition. He received a Masters of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University in 1986, and in 2002 a Masters in Composition from Temple University, in Philadelphia.
Orlando taught Brazilian Music at UArts for 10 years; his expertise in Brazilian music has inspired invitations to teach courses, classes, and clinics at numerous universities in the US.
In addition to the collection of songs recorded with Minas, Orlando has written 20th Century-style works: 2 song cycles, 2 chamber pieces, and 12-tone duets for oboe and viola. Orlando has written music for 3 documentaries and was commissioned to write arrangements for The Orpheus Club of Philadelphia, a choir of 80 men, and commissioned by Live Connections to write a suite presented by Minas and the baroque ensemble Melomanie. His latest chamber music piece, "Lendas Amazônicas" was commissioned by Orchestra 2001 in Philadelphia, and premiered in June of 2021.
Orlando Haddad is a Godin Guitars artist.
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Patricia King
A native of Denver, Colorado, Patricia grew up in Carlisle, PA, where she began her music education studying voice and piano, and composing at an early age. By the age of 6, she began performing and singing in musicals and theatrical productions. In 1974 she enrolled at University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) where she studied opera and continued piano studies and composing, when she met Orlando. Fluent in Portuguese, Patricia has journeyed to Brazil regularly for the past 30 years. She is a versatile and fluent pianist, a singer with a 4-octave range, and a prolific songwriter whose compositions are marked by a lyrical and sensuous style.
Patricia holds a Master's Degree in Jazz Piano Performance from Philadelphia's University of the Arts and a degree in classical voice from UNCSA. She has taught music in The Philadelphia School District, and privately, as well as vocal coaching at The University of the Arts. Along with Orlando, Patricia has conducted clinics at The University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, University of Maryland, Franklin and Marshall College, Temple University, Dickinson College, Swarthmore College, and The University of the Arts, to name a few.
In addition to composing and recording for Minas, Patricia has written and published a book, La Giara (The Water Jug), from which she created a musical inspired by the story of her Sicilian family’s emigration to America.
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Photographs by Charles Eustace and Paul Simeone