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Gabriel Lopes
Respected percussionist, composer and samba school bateria researcher. He’s been playing with Rio’s most renowned carnival Bloco, Monobloco for 22 years and has been a tutor at their percussion classes in Rio for the past 10 years.
As a guitarist, he has released many of his own compositions. Notably, Gabriel composed and performed his own entry for Mangueira, the most prestigious samba school in Rio. To date, he has released three books about samba schools’ baterias. Gabriel also runs a website and YouTube channel where he shares his research on the subject
J P Courtney
Multi percussionist, arranger, director and course organiser from Ireland. He’s the owner of J P Percussion Ltd and has been specialising in Brazilian percussion since 1999.
Well-known for his drumming skills and dynamic teaching ability, J P is always a reliable addition to any workshop. He is the musical director of Carnaval Transatlântico, the first non Brazilian based group to perform in the official Rio street carnival. J P is also known for his vast list of connections in the percussion scene in Rio and his online shop of quality Brazilian percussion instruments.