Our History
2002 - While making a documentary film for a Swiss television broadcast, Alberto Eisenhardt and his wife Adriana – founders of the non-profit Casa dos Curumins Association – embarked upon their journey of working with children and young people from the slums (favelas) of Sao Paolo, Brazil.
2005 - After three years of intense work and thoughts shared with people engaged in social projects in the suburbs of Sao Paulo, Alberto and Adriana decided to formalize their commitment and founded the Casa dos Curumins Association (The children’s house) in Brazil and Switzerland – the country where they lived at that time. The Casa dos Curumins was created as an after-school project, a safe place for 120 children and young people from the favelas (6-15 years old) to flourish.
2010 - The turning point at Casa dos Curumins was in 2010, when Mr. and Mrs. Eisenhardt (he, a filmmaker, and she, a lawyer and public notary) decided to move from Switzerland to Brazil in order to personally follow and develop the projects of the Association. The first collaborations with the Brazilian government got underway, and this aid was supplemented with the support of NGOs and Swiss Foundations that, together with its many Swiss supporters, allowed the Casa dos Curumins’s projects to be consolidated and developed.
2015 – In addition to its after-school project, Casa dos Curumins started a Nursery school benefiting 170 children from 0 to 4 years old: Parque Doroteia Nursery.
2016 - The Quarteirão da Música project, a philanthropic Music School welcoming 150 young people (6 – 20 years old), was initiated. The Quarteirão da Música, located in a house next to the Casa dos Curumins headquarters, which was purchased and consequently renovated, also introduced music lessons for children attending the “Parque Dorotéia” Nursery.
2017 – A teaching system based on Keith Swanwick’s TECLA model was introduced. Very soon the Quarteirão da Música became a reference school in the area, where it not only inspired young minds to experience the joy of music, but also transformed lives through music!
2018 – A small recording studio was installed in the school and the first introductory course to audio recording and mixing was offered.
2019 – A full year introductory course to audio techniques and mixing was offered to 8 music school students. A collaboration project with the Swiss consulate and embassy was carried out.
2017 / 2020 - The high quality of teaching at Quarteirão da Música attracted important names in Brazilian instrumental music to the school, starting a spontaneous collaboration offering free prestigious workshops. The Banda dos Curumins, a group made up of pupils and professors of the school, began to perform with prestigious guests. Children and youth choirs performed at festivals and musical events with international guests.
2020 – The first Brazilian supporters joined the School, such as ENEL - Brazil, BIP - Brazil and Policlyp - Brazil.
The school is now considered by many professional musicians as a place where they can donate their talent and knowledge, and in doing so they make a concrete contribution to the social transformation that the country needs.
