Mozart Camargo Guàrnieri, Brazil Son of a Sicilian immigrant, Mozart Camargo Guàrnieri was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1907. From his very first steps in the study of music he was guided towards the aesthetics of nationalism, and later on he combined his work as a composer with activities as a teacher and a conductor.           In 1938 he went to Paris to study with Koechlin and Ruhlmann. He was invited several times to the United States where he was awarded various prizes, here in Washington and in Philadelphia for his compositions. While in Brazil, he was appointed the principal conductor of the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra. Subsequently, in 1957 he had won first place at the Second Latin-American Music Festival in Caracas, Venezuela with his Choro for piano and orchestra.           Camargo became the director of the Sao Paulo Conservatory of Music in 1960. Known as a prolific songwriter in his own right, his instrumental music made good use of some of the folk instruments of Brazil, especially the percussion instruments. Camargo Guàrnieri explored the world of his country’s native dances, turning some of their characteristic rhythm patterns into highly stylized concert dances like “Dansa brasileira.” This work was originally written for piano in 1929 but was orchestrated four years later by the composer as part of a three movement suite of dances entitled Três dansas para orquestra.