Cassio Vianna

Cassio Vianna is a pianist, arranger, music educator, and an award-winning composer from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Vianna received a Bachelor of Music degree from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (Uni-Rio) and worked as a performer, studio musician, and arranger in the vibrant Rio music scene until 2009, when he moved to the U.S. to further his music studies and career. He earned a Master of Music degree from Western Oregon University, and a Doctor of Arts Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado.

Vianna’s compositions for jazz big band have received numerous awards, including from the National Band Association, International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers (ISJAC), and the Jazz Education Network (JEN). Vianna’s compositions and arrangements have been performed by artists such as Eric Marienthal, Ernie Watts, Chris Potter, Martha Reeves, The United States Army Field Band (Jazz Ambassadors), Chuck Owen’s Jazz Surge Band, and the Colorado Repertory Jazz Orchestra, to name a few.

In 2018, Vianna moved to Tacoma to become the Director of Jazz Studies at Pacific Lutheran University, where he is currently an Associate Professor of Music. He directs the PLU Jazz Ensemble and teaches classes in jazz theory, jazz history, jazz piano, and jazz composition. His most recent CDs include Letters to Grace: A Song Cycle (Teal Creek Music, 2011) and Infância (Teal Creek Music, 2017). His second album with the Cassio Vianna Jazz Orchestra — titled Vida — will be released in January 2025