Meet Taunton High School prodigy whose 'music tells a powerful story'

TAUNTON — Though he’s only been playing musical instruments for five years, Taunton High School senior Caio Dos Santos-Amado is already a multiple award winner.

For the last three years he’s won first place in the South Eastern District of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association (SEMMEA) Composition Contest.  Competitors submit full original orchestral compositions, an impressive feat considering the age of the students and the range of instrumentation it often entails.

Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dos Santos-Amado came to the United States when he was 11 to live with his father.

Dos Santos-Amado said he became interested in studying music in eighth grade, and a teacher recommended he try the saxophone.

“It’s like a drug. I got hooked,” Dos Santos-Amado said.

Not too long after, he started teaching himself how to read and write sheet music. Utilizing free music-writing software, MuseScore, he started playing around with and eventually learning how to write orchestral music for multiple instruments.

Dos Santos-Amado explained that though the software doesn’t technically require a familiarization with all the instruments in order to compose music for full orchestras, his musical aptitude has caught up over the years through his academics. Besides saxophone, he said he has at least a fundamental understanding of playing the piano, trumpet, clarinet and bassoon. 

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Dos Santos-Amado said inspiration for much of his musical input comes down to what he’s learning or absorbing at a given moment. His 2023 SEMMEA-winning composition, “Arabian Rhapsody,” is a wind instrument ensemble and was inspired by his learning about Arab culture in his history class, as well as learning new horned instruments.

His 2022 composition which also won SEMMEA that year, "Volcanic Pulverizer" — a title he said was inspired by rock band ACDC — was started while he was learning about Pompei and Mount Vesuvius.

“Things I get curious about are things I write about,” Dos Santos-Amado said.

Dos Santos-Amado is enthusiastic when speaking about his works. He added his improvement in composition and instrumentation over the past year has led to multiple rewrites of Volcanic Pulverizer.

He continues to get recognition among his peers and teachers for his compositional and performance skills.

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Back on Dec. 20, one of his pieces, “December: The First Snowfall” was performed by the Taunton High School Symphonic Band at its Winter Band Concert. He describes this piece as an encapsulation of the year leading up to December, as well as the expectations people have with a coming new year.

Then on Jan. 7, he was selected as one of four senior saxophonists, spanning across the region, to perform as part of the South Eastern District of the Massachusetts Music Educators Association Senior Festival.

In addition, this April, Taunton High School’s symphonic and concert bands will be traveling to Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida, to perform at Festival Disney, a competitive music festival for school concert bands and orchestras.  One of Dos Santos-Amado’s new works, “Dauntless,” will be performed by the Symphonic Band.  He describes the piece as being “about children’s imagination.”

“On behalf of the entire district we want to congratulate Caio for this outstanding achievement. Caio’s music tells a powerful story and it has been exciting to watch his talent progress,” Superintendent of Schools John Cabral said in a written statement.

Recently, Dos Santos-Amado was accepted to the State University of New York (SUNY) in Fredonia. He still needs to be accepted into the University’s School of Music, which requires an interview and audition later this year.

His audition will be with this saxophone because “that’s the instrument I’m most comfortable with.” He said he intends on majoring in music composition, with a minor in either music education or performance.

Career-wise, he wants to go down the route of a performer, whether solo or band, as well as a composer. Being an educator is also an option, one which will require additional studies and mentorships.

“Myself and the Performing Arts Department are proud of Caio's accomplishments over the past couple of years culminating in his acceptance to SUNY Fredonia to study music composition," said Corey Beltram, the performing arts coordinator for Taunton Public Schools.

"I am excited to see where his future career in music may bring him," he added.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton High School: Caio Dos Santos-Amado is a saxophonist, composer