Paulo Costa Lima

Who is Paulo Costa Lima?

Paulo Costa Lima is a Brazilian composer and writer.

He belongs to the second generation of the compositional movement initiated by the so-called Grupo de Compositores da Bahia that was formed in 1966, with the basic assertion that it was “mainly against all and every asserted principle”. After studying composition with Jamary Oliveira and Ernst Widmer in Brazil, and Ben Johnston and Herbert Brün at the University of Illinois, USA, he became a professor at the Universidade Federal da Bahia, and held several positions such as Director of the Music School and Assistant Vice-President for Community Affairs. Since 1992 his compositional interests addressed the application of rhythmic patterns of Bahia’s candomblé, creating universes of hybridization, non-sequitur and humor involving Afro-Bahian and Avant-Garde contexts and ideas. He received several composition prizes, among which the Vitae Foundation, Secult-Ba and Funarte. His pieces have been played in many countries with performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Musikhaus, Rode Pompe and São Paulo.