Paulo Gomes is the Director of Choral Music at Blinn College, Brenham Campus, Artistic Director and Conductor of Houston Masterworks Chorus, and Founder of Houston Camerata. Dr. Gomes led the Houston Masterworks Chorus at their performance of the 80th Anniversary Commemoration of Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii 2021, representing the City of Houston.
He has also conducted at Boston University, University of Houston, Clark University, Worcester State University and University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2019, Dr. Gomes led the way for Blinn College District Chamber Choir’s first trip abroad, in the Andalusia region in Spain. They perform at the University of Granada, Pablo Olavide University of Seville, and at the Iglesia de la Encarnacion in Montefrio, where they received great reviews and audience ovations.
During his studies in Houston, Dr. Gomes served as the Assistant Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus. As an educator Gomes was awarded Teacher of the Year by his faculty peers at Worcester Public Schools. He has also been a presenter for the America Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conference in Salt Lake City, lectured for Massachusetts ACDA on Brazilian Choral Music. In 2022, Dr. Gomes will be the Choral Coordinator of the Texas Two-Years College Choral Directors Association (TTCCDA) under the leadership of Dr. Lynne Gackle, from Baylor University.
Dr. Gomes was born in Brazil and has conducted in his country as well as in Italy. In 1992, he received a second prize on the “Premio Vicenzo Valenti ” conducting the orchestra and choir Josquino Salépico in Molffetta City, Italy. His other mentors include Dr. Wayne Abercrombie, Dr. Eph Ehly, Dr. Katalin Kiss, Maestro Roberto Duarte, Maestro Sergio Magnani, and Maestro Carlos Alberto Pinto Fonseca. As an assistant conductor at the Municipal Theater in São Paulo, Dr. Gomes worked with professional singers such as Aprile Millo, Samuel Ramey, and Fernando Portari in the production of the operas Un Ballo in Maschera, L’elisir d’amore, Otello, Aida, and Fidelio.
Dr. Gomes holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Houston, and Master of Music degree from Boston University, where he received the Departmental Honor Award for outstanding achievement.
As a performer, Dr. Gomes advocates for a cappella choral music and choral/orchestral works, and his research interests focus on Brazilian Colonial music. He is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, Chorus America, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, the College Music Society, America Guild of Organists, and the national music honor society Pi Kappa Lambda.