The Stephen Guerra Duo, Stephen Guerra, guitar, and Grant Ziolkowski, bandolim, will play originals and standards of Brazilian instrumental music at the final concert of the Summer Concert Series of St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church, Brooklyn Heights, on Thursday, September 2, at 6:00 pm. The 45-minute concerts take place in the church at Montague and Clinton Streets each Thursday through September 2, 2021. The Forum @ St. Ann’s, the parish’s arts and culture program, is presenting the concert series to benefit St. Ann’s Pop-Up Pantry on its first anniversary,

Stephen Paul Guerra specializes in classical Brazilian guitar. A band leader, accompanist, composer and arranger, he performs at music clubs, cultural centers, universities, and guitar societies around the United States and has shared the stage with Rogério Souza, Duo Violão, Ami Molinelli, Tiago do Bandolim, Q Morrow, Regional de NY, Susanne Ortner, and Catherine Bent among others. In 2020, his classical-guitar project Duo Guerra/Morrow released its debut album Choro in the Time of Bossa Nova. Later this summer, Mel Bay will release Guerra’s book 10 Brazilian Choros Arranged for Solo Classical Guitar. Currently, Guerra is composing, recording, and concertizing an  album of original Brazilian choros entitled Choro-Sambas de NY, which features Grant Ziolkowski on bandolim and Eduardo Belo on bass.

Guerra has a Ph.D. in music theory from Yale University, has published research articles about rhythm and meter in Latin-American African-diasporic music and has taught music at UMass Amherst, Northern Arizona University, Rutgers University, and Yale University. Guerra is the Executive Director of the Bronx Conservatory of Music.

Originally from Wisconsin, Grant Ziolkowski began playing mandolin and singing at a young age. His musical pursuits have carried him from classical music to jazz, bluegrass and old-time, and later to the diverse styles of Spain, Argentina and Brazil. Grant has toured throughout the United States and Europe with Chicago bluegrass outfit, The Henhouse Prowlers. He then taught and worked at the Old Town School of Folk Music, a Chicago music and arts non-profit. Grant released Rodeway in July 2014, a showcase of original compositions featuring an all-star cast of Chicago bluegrass musicians. The tuneful newgrass EP runs the modern bluegrass gamut, from crooked Celtic tunes to Chicago hard grass to a dream-like waltz. Since moving to New York City, Grant has focused his efforts on Brazilian choro music, playing regularly with the Regional de New York, teaching mandolin and traveling to Brazil to study with the masters.

Concertgoers are asked to donate food items or make a financial donation to St. Ann’s Pop-Up Pantry. The program was launched in June 2020 in response to the increased food insecurity in Brooklyn resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The program quickly evolved, providing increasing amounts of non-perishable and fresh groceries as the lines of guests grew longer. Today, St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry provides nutritious food to as many as 300 people a week, and the need shows no sign of stopping.

All are urged to combine their love of music and the desire to help their neighbors by attending the Summer Concert Series benefiting St. Ann’s Pop-up Pantry.