Arnon Oliveira

Arnon Oliveira is a Brazilian musician, conductor, and university professor whose work focuses on choral conducting, musicology, and music history. He is a professor at the School of Music of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), where he works in the Department of General Music Theory and coordinates the UFMG Choral Music Center. His activities encompass teaching, research, and outreach, with a strong emphasis on choral training and critical reflection on collective musical practices.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in Piano and Conducting from the School of Music at UFMG, a master’s degree in Musicology with an emphasis on Brazilian Music from UNIRIO, and a PhD in History from the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences at UFMG. He completed postdoctoral research in History and is currently an associated researcher at the Centre for Music Studies (CESEM) at NOVA University Lisbon. His current research addresses choral circulation, Luso-Brazilian cultural exchanges, and the institutionalization of musical practices.

Oliveira is the conductor and artistic director of the Coro Madrigale de Belo Horizonte, an ensemble with a longstanding presence in the Brazilian choral scene. He has also led major choral groups such as Ars Nova – UFMG Choir. His artistic career bridges classical and popular repertoires, with particular interest in Brazilian choral music, conductor training, and the symbolic and social dimensions of musical practice.

In addition to his academic and artistic work, he develops reflective writing and interdisciplinary research, engaging with fields such as cultural history, sociology of music, and symbolic studies. His work seeks to integrate musical practice, critical thought, and human experience, understanding the choir as an aesthetic, educational, and political space.