Samba New York!

The founder and director of Samba New York! is percussionist and ethnomusicologist Philip Galinsky, Ph.D. He has studied percussion with samba masters Jorge Alabê, Jonas de Oliveira, Odilon Costa, Maninho Costa, Miguel do Repinique, and Boca (Wagner Bezerra) and has performed for Rio Carnaval in the baterias of some of Brazil's most renowned samba schools, including Acadêmicos do Salgueiro and Imperatriz Leopoldinense.

He has conducted field research in Brazil since 1993 and has a doctorate in ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University. His pioneering publications on the pagode samba of Rio and Recife's mangue movement have garnered recognition in the field of ethnomusicology and beyond. He has taught at Wesleyan University, Hampshire College, and the University of California at Davis, founding and directing samba ensembles at each of these locations. In addition, he has given workshops, courses, and lectures on Brazilian music for numerous colleges, universities, and organizations.

His residencies in Brazilian percussion include those at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Frederick Douglass Academy and Bank Street School in New York City, and Triple Hill Music Festival in Mount Vernon, NY. He has performed samba throughout the United States, including at New York's Radio City Music Hall and The Rainbow Room, the San Francisco Carnaval, and Jazz Fest in New Orleans.

A leading authority in the U.S. on Brazilian music, he is available as an educator and specialist in Brazilian percussion for workshops, lecture-demonstrations, private instruction, and performances.