peerLatin Scholarship Announced
Chella
The BMI Foundation has announced Chella Nahas, professionally known as Chella, as the winner of the 2020 peermusic Latin Scholarship competition. Chella is a Brazllian native and studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. She was presented with the $5,000 award for her song “Sao Paulo.”
"As a Brazilian singer/songwriter, my purpose is to bring Brazilian Popular Music (MPB) back to the ears of the young generation, aiming to keep the genre alive - both in Brazil and beyond its borders." said Chella. "Winning the peermusic Latin Scholarship allows me to deepen my studies in Brazilian and Latin music at Berklee, so I am extremely grateful for this opportunity!"
The peermusic Latin Scholarship was established in 2003 through the generosity and vision of peermusic CEO Ralph Peer II, for the purpose of encouraging the next generation of Latin composers. The contest is open to students between the ages of 17 and 24, who are enrolled in any college or university located in the United States and Puerto Rico. A $5,000 scholarship is presented annually for the best original song or instrumental composition in any Latin genre. For over a decade, the program has nurtured promising musicians who have gone on to distinguish themselves in the fields of television, film, recorded music, and concert performance.
Chella is a Brazilian singer/songwriter who aims to reimagine traditional Brazilian rhythms - such as baião and afoxé - and bring them into the ears of the young generation. Having studied pop music for her entire childhood, Chella realized that Brazilians - including herself - were more involved with North-American pop than with their national music. With this in mind, she began to explore the infinite possibilities that Brazilian music has to offer and specialized in it. Today, Chella’s music is a mixture of Brazilian and Latin rhythms, jazz harmonies and pop forms. She is launching her new album, "Nem Lá Nem Cá", by the end of this year - a unique piece of work that expresses her curiosity about cities, cultures, people, and feelings - along with many performances around Boston and São Paulo.
About peermusic
Founded by Ralph Peer in 1928, peermusic is a global network of music publishing companies operating from 33 offices in 27 countries, with well over a quarter of a million titles in the company’s catalogue, and songs that vary from country, blues, jazz, and pop to Latin, concert, and rock & roll. For more information, visit www.peermusic.com.