“Once in a while you come across that voice, that talent, that honest - to - goodness great natural sound.”
Julian Rodescu at Associated Press.
NELSON EBO
BIOGRAPHY
Nelson Ebo was born in Angola in 1984 during the civil war. Since childhood, he struggled against that war and illness which claimed the lives of both parents and several siblings. With his powerful tenor voice and musical soul, Nelson was able to lift himself out of hardship while inspiring all those who heard him.
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At the age of 14, Nelson was first introduced to choral music in his local church. His fascination with opera began by chance when he heard a CD of opera luminaries Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo and taught himself to sing like them. He began to sing in Casa 70 in Luanda to pay for his own education and family’s wellbeing.
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In 2001, Nelson was invited to sing at a human rights song contest organized jointly by the UN and the Angolan Ministry of Justice. Impressed with Nelson’s extraordinary talent, the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation supported Nelson to pursue the study of music in Spain.
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In 2008, Nelson moved to the USA as a scholarship student at the Hartt School of Music where he studied with Wayne Rivera. In 2011, Nelson auditioned for and was accepted as a “resident artist” at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia where he studied with the renowned voice teacher, Bill Schuman.
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Nelson has won awards from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Giulio Gari Foundation and Opera North and has performed in concerts in the United States, Europe, and Angola. In 2011, Marcello Giordani, a renowned tenor, invited Nelson to perform with him in concerts in New Jersey and Sicily. From September 2011 until May 2013, Nelson Ebo sang at different music events of the Academy of Vocal Arts, Philadelphia.
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In 2012, 12 years after leaving Angola to study singing abroad, Nelson was invited back to Angola by Carlos Cunha to perform at the 14th anniversary of Casa 70.
Through this concert, and the support of the First Lady of Angola, Nelson has returned numerous times to give concerts in Angola and Portugal and continue his professional development in Italy and Germany, where he currently resides.