Faro Negro - Argentinian and Brazilian Chamber Music - 2019

Video By Video Outcomes

Faro Negro

Faro Negro tells timeless stories with a twist, seamlessly drawing on a rich tapestry of rhythms, instruments and cultures. A performance art group focusing on multi-modal pieces, Faro Negro, collaborates with poets, dancers, storytellers, film makers, sound designers and production people to create works that are composed, scripted and carefully organised.

Current Show: The Black Lighthouse, an immersive performance of music, poetry and soundscape.


"Our hope is to tell stories in sound, enhanced with poetry in English and Spanish, supported by evocative soundscapes. Sonic tales of culture and the people we share it with."


Faro Negro have performed, separately and together, in a wide range of festivals and concert venues in Australia and abroad. Faro Negro puts on a high quality show and can fully engage their audience. A great addition to festival programs and concert series. This group presents original Australian music inspired by the music of Latin America. The music is rich and accessible and has the clarity and consideration of chamber music with the accent of jazz and world music. The music can be fragile and intimate at one moment and expressive and lively the next.

Julian Scheffer explores Argentinean and Brazilian music through new compositions and arrangements. Julian studied at the Victorian College of the Arts and travelled to Brazil a number of times to perform and undertake research for an honours thesis. He has lived and worked as a musician abroad, performing throughout Australia, the Netherlands and the UK. Julian has performed with Doug de Vries and Sexteto Zona Sul, Asha Henfry and Tamandua, Paul Carey & Julian Scheffer duo and Alma Mater.

Paloma Bica specialises in tango music and spent her early years studying classical music at Conservatory of Montevideo, Uruguay, and later at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. Paloma lived in Buenos Aires for 6 years, forming part of La Orquesta Escuela de Tango and performing in the rich Buenos Aires tango scene with tango luminaries China Cruel, Orquesta Sans Souci, El Arranque and La Orquesta Elvino Vardaro.

Emiliano Beltzer has more than 20 years of experience recording, touring and teaching music. In 2013 Emiliano moved from Argentina to Melbourne where he has quickly become an in-demand bass player in the music scene. Specialising in South American music, he frequents Melbourne’s top venues playing with artists such as El Numero Perfecto, Amaru Tribe, Santa Taranta and Funkalleros.

Stephen Cuttriss is a multi-instrumentalist and early-career ethnomusicologist specialising in Argentinian tango music. Stephen has completed his Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours in classical piano at the Queensland Conservatorium, and is currently finishing his PhD in Anthropology at La Trobe University. During his Doctoral fieldwork in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he studied the quintessential tango instrument, the bandoneon. Stephen is the co-founder and director of the Mendoza Tango Quartet.