Education & Interests
Adolfo Mendonça serves as director of jazz at the University of Minnesota Morris, where he teaches jazz musicianship classes, directs jazz ensembles, and is responsible for the annual UMM Jazz Festival. Before his appointment, he served as a full-time instructor at Conservatorio Municipal de Guarulhos in Brazil for several years and at Knox College in the United States. He has also served as a guest lecturer at numerous universities and conservatories in the US and Brazil, including the University of Wisconsin Madison, the University of Northern Iowa, Millikin University, Cuesta College, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Universidade de Campinas, Universidade Julio de Mesquita, Universidade Federal do Para, Souza Lima Berklee, Sao Paulo State School of Music, and several more.
As a jazz pianist, Mendonça has performed in jazz clubs and festivals in Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Brazil, France, and Mexico. He collaborated through performances/recordings with musicians such as Randy Brecker, Piska, Arthur Maia, Jose Valentino Ruiz, Mark Tonelli, Tammy Scheffer, and more. His recent record Brazilian Childhood features both acoustic and electronic instrumentation mixing jazz improvisation, electronic instruments, and influences of Brazilian music. He was awarded third prize at the prestigious Guiomar Novaes competition in Brazil in 2021.
Mendonça's research has been presented at numerous conferences in the United States and focuses on critical perspectives concerning the improvement of the experiences of international music students in higher education in the US and interculturality, in addition to improvisation teaching and learning.