We recently connected with Andre Correa da Silva and have shared our conversation below.

Andre, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

C F C Am G F

One of the biggest risks I’ve ever taken was pursuing my dream of attending Berklee College of Music. I grew up in Campinas, Brazil, in a family with no musicians and very little access to advanced in music education. By the time I was 12, I knew I wanted to spend my life making music, and I started working early as a music teacher to help my parents and to stay close to what I loved.

Years later, after becoming a licensed music educator in Brazil and building a solid career teaching and playing professionally, I decided to apply to Berklee College of Music. It felt impossible financially, culturally, and even emotionally. I was surrounded by people who believed that being a musician was unstable, unrealistic, or even irresponsible. Some told me to give up. I almost did.

But I took the risk anyway. I applied. I was accepted. I received a scholarship — still not enough to cover everything — and I left my job, my family, and my home to move to the U.S. with no certainty that I’d be able to finish the program. The pressure was intense: learning in a foreign language, adjusting to a much higher level of performance, and competing for opportunities with musicians from all around the world.

What happened next changed my life. Not only did I graduate with a 3.95 GPA, but I earned two awards from the Guitar Department, worked in the Accessibility Department helping visually impaired students, became a developer assistant for Berklee Online, and had the honor of studying with legendary musicians like Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci, and Sheryl Bailey. The place that once intimidated me became the place that refined me.

After all that, I took a new risk moving to Orlando and starting my career all over again. I couldn’t be happier! Here I am working as an educator, performer, and composer, helping musicians develop their artistic identity. The first risk—leaving Brazil with no guarantees—became the turning point of my career. It taught me that uncertainty is not a wall, but a doorway. And sometimes, the scariest decisions are the ones that shape us into who we were meant to become.

Now I understand that taking risks is the only way to grow as a person and as a professional.

Andre, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a guitar player and composer specialized in instrumental music, with a love for Brazilian Jazz and Contemporary Jazz. These styles have shaped my sound, but my career has always been defined by versatility. In parallel with my own creative projects, I work as a sideman across a wide range of genres—everything from Argentinian classical music to R&B. This background allows me to adapt easily to different artists, ensembles, and performance settings.

What truly sets me apart is my approach to improvisation. I see every performance as an opportunity to tell a story in real time—to capture whatever I’m feeling in the moment and transform it in music. That spontaneity, honesty, and responsiveness is at the core of everything I do, whether I’m playing my own compositions or supporting another artist’s vision.

Now days I am playing with Noelly Sings and it has been an amazing experience. She and her band are incredible good, I am really excited with what is coming next. Along with that, I am working on my instrumental album that will be released next month. It will be special!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For sure is the moment someone feel touched buy my song. I play instrumental song, so the meaning of the melody, chords and texture are open, so the feedback is always different. The same song can bring a feeling of joy to one listener and solitude to another. That is beautiful and super special. Music is powerful and to see the song I wrote touching people’s heart is the most special thing to me.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I thought I had to be perfect. It took me years to learn that it is not true. The day I realized that was when I met Danilo Perez at first time. He told me to follow my feelings and fight against the fear of been imperfect. He called that Fear Training. It wasn’t easy to practice that, actually I am still working on it, but it changed the way I play forever.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://admandrecorrea.wixsite.com/music
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrecorrea.gtr/?igsh=MW01bWMwcWlhNWlhdw%3D%3D#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrecorrea.silva.9/?locale=pt_BR
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-correa-music/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@andrecorreaguitar
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@andrecorreaguitar?_t=ZM-8zBfRedtE7a&_r=1