Trumpeter Fernando Dissenha began his music studies with Pedro Vital, in São José dos Pinhais. His Bachelor's degree was obtained at Paraná's School of Music and Fine Arts, where he was a trumpet student of Antônio Aparício Guimarães. Later, he had lessons with Edgar Batista dos Santos in São Paulo. For ten years he played with Paraná's Symphony Orchestra.
In 1991, awarded with a Vitae scholarship, he studied at Hartford University in the United States. That same year he had an opportunity to attend the Anzio Music Festival in Italy. The Juilliard School of Music accepted him as a student in February 1992, where he studied with Chris Gekker, and later with Mark Gould. He received his Master's Degree in Music from The Juilliard School, in 1996.
As the winner of Juilliard's Trumpet Concerto Competition (1993), Fernando Dissenha played the Hummel Concerto; he was also featured as the soloist with The New York String Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. The New York Times described this performance as "a bright and virtuosic reading". He also played in New York as a guest artist with the American Brass Quintet, and with conductors such as Leonard Slatkin, Gerard Schwarz, Stanislaw Skrowaczewsky, Kurt Masur, Sidney Harth, Otto-Werner Mueller, and so forth. He was also featured as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfonica Venezuela and several Brazilian orchestras.
Since 1997, Fernando Dissenha has been solo trumpet of São Paulo's State Symphony Orchestra. With this ensemble he has toured in Brazil, Argentina, Peru and the United States. As a chamber artist, he performed with the São Paulo Brass Quintet in several Brazilian music festivals. Presently Mr. Dissenha teaches at EMBAP and Tom Jobim's Music Studies Center (ULM), in São Paulo.
Fernando Dissenha and his wife Susana live in São Paulo and congregate at the Baptist Church in Perdizes. They like to take care of theirs three cats and to watch action and sci-fi series. Mr. Dissenha is a fan of both Seinfeld and his hometown soccer team: Clube Atlético Paranaense.
