About Olá Samba

Open

The name Olá Samba says it all; say 'hello' to Samba! Olá Samba aims to open up the exciting world of samba drumming to as many people as possible.

Professional

Learn from a professional music tutor with over 15 years' experience organising and delivering sessions to all ages.

Inspiring

Learn the 'real-deal' from teachers active in the Brazilian percussion community and taught first-hand by some of the best percussionists in Brazil.

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Stratton School Cirencester

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What is Samba?

Samba is most famous for being at the very heart of the Rio Carnival, where it is fast, loud, and full of energy. Samba is a song and a dance driven by percussion.

In the UK, we might use the word 'samba' to cover anything played on Brazilian percussion. Olá Samba teaches authentic carnival samba alongside tastes of other Brazilian music such as Samba Reggae of the Blocos Afros in Bahia, Maracatu of the Naçoes in Pernambuco, some music of the sacred Candomblé traditions as well as rhythms from around the world such as Funk, Hip-Hop and Bhangra.

All of Olá Samba's workshops are run on authentic Rio-style Brazilian percussion instruments, made in Brazil.

Want to read more about the complicated answer to this simple question? Check out the Olá Samba blog!

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A photo I took while on drumming tour in Rio in February 2014

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David Walter BSc (Hons) MMus

David Walter founded Olá Samba in 2011.

Since then David has studied and performed in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salvador, and worked across the UK and as far as Germany, Spain, Singapore, and New York.

Living and breathing as much Brazilian culture as possible, David speaks good Brazilian Portuguese and is an active capoeirista in Oficina Da Capoeira since 2022.

David has been an active musician as long as he can remember. From learning the piano at age 5, through playing guitar, fronting rock bands, composing for film and writing original singer/songwriter material, David lives and breathes music.

David has a 1st Class degree in Psychology from the University of Warwick, and a Masters in Music from the University of Bath Spa.