© 2025 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Brazilian Twins Follow Classical Music Dream

By Julie McCarthy
Published September 14, 2006 at 6:00 AM EDT
Twins Wagner and Walter Caldas have been playing the violin for 10 years, initially at the insistence of their mother.
Julie McCarthy, NPR /
Twins Wagner and Walter Caldas have been playing the violin for 10 years, initially at the insistence of their mother.
Jonas and Homalia Caldas in his Niteroi shop, where he makes and restores classical instruments.
Julie McCarthy, NPR /
Jonas and Homalia Caldas in his Niteroi shop, where he makes and restores classical instruments.

A pair of 21-year-old twin Brazilian violinists are working their way out of poverty by playing classical music.

Wagner and Walter Caldas grew up in a poor neighborhood across the bay from Rio de Janeiro. The brothers make their American debut this week, performing with their orchestra for the Brazil Foundation in New York City.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
NPR
Julie McCarthy
Julie McCarthy has spent most of career traveling the world for NPR. She's covered wars, prime ministers, presidents and paupers. But her favorite stories "are about the common man or woman doing uncommon things," she says.
See stories by Julie McCarthy
WRVO is at a critical moment.
Recent cuts to federal funding are challenging our mission to serve central and upstate New York with trusted journalism, vital local coverage, and the diverse programming that informs and connects our communities. This is the moment to join our community of supporters and help keep journalists on the ground, asking hard questions that matter to our region.

Stand with public media and make your gift today—not just for yourself, but for all who depend on WRVO as a trusted resource and civic cornerstone in central and upstate New York.
Support WRVO now