ABOUT
MORGANA MORENO

Flutist and composer from Salvador, Bahia, Morgana Moreno is one of the leading voices of a new generation of Brazilian instrumental music. Her musical language brings together elements of Brazilian music, contemporary jazz, and improvisation, combining technical precision, creative freedom, and a distinctive artistic voice.

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Winner of the 2014 Educadora FM Festival (Salvador, Brazil) in the Best Instrumental Music category for her composition Baião, Morgana also received First Prize at the 2013 Leopold Bellan International Competition in the World Music & Jazz category (Paris, France), with the duo Morgana Moreno & Marcelo Rosário. In 2015, she was nominated for the Künstlerinnenpreis NRW in Cologne, Germany, and was a finalist for the 6th Profissionais da Música Award with the duo Morgana Moreno & Marcelo Rosário.

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From an early age, Morgana stood out for her distinctive approach to Brazilian instrumental music, particularly in her melodic and improvisational language, sonic aesthetics, and rhythmic approach. Her musical identity has been shaped by her experience with a wide range of styles, including choro, classical music, jazz, and improvised music.

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She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Flute from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA) and a Master’s degree in Music, specializing in Jazz Flute, from the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln in Germany. Morgana has performed with major orchestras in Bahia, including YOBA (a Neojibá project), OSBA, and OSUFBA, as a flautist, piccolo player, and soloist.

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Morgana began her musical studies at the age of nine and, while still young, became part of Salvador’s vibrant music scene, specializing in choro. Among the various ensembles she has performed with was the traditional Bahian regional group Os Ingênuos. She has performed at major festivals and venues throughout Brazil, including Teatro Castro Alves and Clube do Choro de Brasília, as well as in the United States and across Europe, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Highlights include appearances at the North Sea Jazz Festival, Bimhuis, Viva Brasil Amsterdam, Breda Jazz Festival, and Choro Festival Rotterdam. During the six years she lived in Europe, she recorded the 2015 album Miscellaneous, in collaboration with guitarist Marcelo Rosário and musicians from the European jazz and world music scene. In 2016, she recorded and released the self-titled, original album Samba Jazz Clube with the quartet of the same name.

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Morgana has been a guest lecturer at CODARTS, the University of the Arts Rotterdam, and has also taught at EPM Holanda (the Choro School in Rotterdam) and the Escola de Choro de São Paulo. She has given masterclasses and workshops through projects and institutions including Neojibá (Bahia), Oficina de Música de Curitiba, Choro Camp New England (USA), Festival de Choro da ECSP, Festival de Jazz do Capão, and EMESP.

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With the album Nascente, also recorded in collaboration with Marcelo Rosário, Morgana performed more than 40 concerts across Brazil and Europe in 2019. The album was released on digital platforms in March 2020, and the track Impetuosa was a finalist at the 2020 Educadora Music Festival. She has participated in projects and programs including SESC Instrumental, Sons da Bahia, Mostra SESC, SESC Sonoridades, Terça da Música at Teatro Castro Alves, the Itaú Arte como Respiro and Funarte Respirarte funding programs, the Cena Instrumental program on TV Brasil, and the Festival de Jazz do Capão.

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In 2022, with support from the Aldir Blanc Law and the Cultura na Palma da Mão program, Morgana presented Nascente at Sala do Coro of Teatro Castro Alves, featuring guest artist Armandinho Macedo. A recording of the performance was made available online that same year. In 2024, she performed in the Instrumental SESC Brasil series at Sesc Consolação, featuring Michael Pipoquinha.

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She made her first series of performances in the United States, appearing in New York City and Northampton, Massachusetts, and made her debut in Paraguay at the Festival Jazz Sudaca with her duo with Marcelo Rosário, as well as appearing as a guest in a performance by singer Vanessa Moreno. She recorded a special episode on choro for the program Território Aberto in Curitiba and performed as a soloist in celebrations marking the centenary of flautist Altamiro Carrilho in São Paulo, including the Choraço and Viva Altamiro Carrilho festivals. She also participated in the Festival Porto Blue Sound with the Arismar do Espírito Santo group in Belo Horizonte and Curitiba, the São Paulo Jazz Weekend with Marcelo Rosário and the Arismar do Espírito Santo group, and concerts with her own quartet and renowned artists such as Alaíde Costa, Áurea Martins, Moacir Luz, Toninho Geraes, and Paulão 7 Cordas.

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In the first half of 2025, Morgana performed as a soloist with the Orquestra Jovem Tom Jobim, under the direction of Tiago Costa and Nelson Ayres. She also accompanied artists including Cristóvão Bastos and Mestrinho, and collaborated on recordings with João Parahyba (Trio Mocotó), Patrícia Marx, Michael Pipoquinha, and others.

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She is part of the latest formation of Thiago Espírito Santo & Grupo, with whom she performed at Festival Jazz na Serra and recorded the album Ibirá. Alongside Arismar do Espírito Santo, she performed at the Lençóis Jazz e Blues Festival in Barreirinhas, Maranhão. She was also a guest performer in pianist Amaro Freitas’s concert at the Festival Blues Bossa Jam Session in São Paulo.

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In the second half of 2025, Morgana relaunched her original project, the Morgana Moreno Quartet, at the Festival de Jazz de Marabá in Marabá, Pará, marking a new chapter in her work as a composer and bandleader. In 2026, this new phase took shape with the release of Espiral, her latest original EP, accompanied by an audiovisual version of the project.

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In 2026, Morgana also performed at major Brazilian venues and festivals, including the Festival de Choro de Niterói and the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, where she appeared as a soloist with the Coral Paulistano in a concert honoring Baden Powell
That same year, she served on the Selection Committee for the Music Laboratory at Escola Porto Iracema das Artes in Ceará, contributing to the technical and final evaluation of projects submitted to the program.