Bio:
I was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1954.  I began my musical studies with my father, José Martins de Mattos, a well-known violin teacher and performer.   After concluding my Bachelor's Degree in Violin Performance from Fundação Universidade Mineira de Artes, in 1980, I spent two years in Paris, where I studied violin and chamber music with Marie-Louise and Serge Hurel, at Ecole Normale de Musique.
From 1985 to 1995, I lived in the United States, first as a student and later, as a professional musician.   My academical accomplishments there include: "Master of Arts" in violin performance, under Leopold La Fosse, at The University of Iowa; "Master of Music" in viola verformance, under Pamela Ryan; and "Doctor of Music" in violin performance, under Elliot Chapo, at Florida State University.   As a professional violinist and violist, I played in several symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles both, in the United States and in Brazil.
As a viola teacher, I worked for four years as an Assistant Professor, at Valdosta State University, in the State of Georgia.   In 1995, I returned to my native country, and since 1996, I am an Associate Professor of Viola, at the School of Music of Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
In 1999, I began a research project on contemporary bows, especially French, for the Graduate Department of Music of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.   My research project is titled Contemporary French Bowmaking Aspects.

MY BOWMAKING BACKGROUND

Although my experience repairing and restauring bows goes as far as 25 years ago, I've been actually making bows since 2006.   As a violinist and violist, I have always been attracted to violins and bows, possibly thanks to my father who was also a collector of violins and bows.   As a bow maker, I've taken lessons from Richard Salaün and Christian Barthe, from Paris. It's thanks to them that I learned how to make a bow in its entirety: button, frog, and stick.