Otavio Manzano Kavakama

About Otavio

Otavio Manzano Kavakama is a Brazilian cellist currently based in the U.S. Manzano Kavakama is an avid contemporary music performer, having held the cello fellow position with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and being a frequent guest performer with the Ensemble Dal Niente (Chicago). With these ensembles, Manzano Kavakama has shared the stage with world-class artists such as Renée Fleming, Steven Banks, and Nicholas Phan, and has premiered pieces by Du Yun, Michelle Lou, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Gabrielle Herbst, and many others. Manzano Kavakama was also the cello fellow of the Iris Orchestra where he worked in the public school system in Memphis, and helped establish a music class for people with Alzheimer's and dementia. Besides playing the cello, Manzano Kavakama also enjoys performing noise music, bicycle rides, NES Tetris, and Linux and anything FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) related.