About Us

Violinist Dr. Vladimir Rufino and violist Dr. Fabiola Amorim have been performing together as a duo as well as with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Brazil, United States and Canada since 2005. Their love for chamber music has brought their art to stages in Canada, USA, France, Italy and Brazil.

Amorim and Rufino’s musical histories are intertwined both artistically and academically.Besides sharing the stage as performers with the Orquestra Sinfônica da Paraíba, Camerata Brasílica, Villa-Lobos String Quartet, and Vaughan String Quartet, Rufino and Amorim each hold a Bachelor of Music from the Universidade Federal da Paraiba (Brazil), an Artist Certificate from the Azusa Pacific University (USA), a Master of Music from the Azusa Pacific University (USA), and a Doctor of Music from the University of Alberta (Canada).

The Amorim-Rufino Duo is committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians, sharing their knowledge and passion through educational workshops, masterclasses, and outreach programs. They believe in the power of music to inspire, educate, and unite, and strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of aspiring artists everywhere.Currently based in Canada, they perform concerts presenting the vast repertoire for violin and viola. An essential portion of their engagements is reserved for outreach concerts, bringing classical music to hospitals, senior centres, schools, and other venues for those who usually do not have access to a concert hall.

Fabiola Amorim
Violist Fabiola Amorim holds a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Alberta (Canada), a Master of Music degree from Azusa Pacific University (USA), an Artist Certificate from Azusa Pacific University (USA), and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Universidade Federal da Paraíba - UFPB (Brazil). Since the publication of her 2018 doctoral thesis Echoes of the Brazilian Nationalism Movement in Four Works for Viola and Piano (1950-82), Amorim’s work has served as a reference for other researchers on Brazilian music for viola.
Throughout her studies she received many scholarships and awards, including the Beryl Barns Memorial Graduate Award and Harriet Snowball Winspear Graduate Scholarship. She studied with Mr. Yerko Tabilo, Mr. Charles Stegeman, and Mr. Robert Becker. She participated in a number of music festivals and symposia in Brazil and United States including the Starling-Delay Symposium at The Juilliard School.
Amorim is a founding member of the Vaughan String Quartet, which, since its formation in 2013, has maintained a busy concert schedule with performances in Canada, USA, France and Italy. As a member of the Quartet Amorim was an Artist in Residence at the Banff Centre, recorded the piece Apocalypsis by R. Murray Schafer (published by Analekta) in 2015, and in 2017 received the Cultural Diversity Award from the City of Edmonton. This award made possible the recording in 2018 of the Quartet’s debut CD, which included works by the Italian composers Simone Boi and D. P. Runcini, and the Brazilian composers A. Carlos Gomes and H. Villa-Lobos.
Amorim was a member of the Orquestra Sinfônica da Paraíba (Brazil), and served as principal viola for the Orquestra de Câmara da Cidade de João Pessoa (Brazil), the Azusa Pacific University Symphony Orchestra (USA), and the University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra (Canada), with which she also appeared as a soloist in 2014 and 2015. As a chamber musician she has appeared on stages in Brazil, USA, Canada, France and Italy, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Symphony Space (New York), Rolston Recital Hall (Banff), and Sony Centre (Toronto). She was a member of the Villa-Lobos String Quartet (USA) and the Camerata Brasílica (Brazil), and while with the Camerata Brasílica was a prize winner at the 2006 Concurso Nacional de Música de Câmara in the city of Londrina (Brazil).
Dr. Amorim maintains an active schedule as a concert violist and educator. She currently performs regularly with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and Prince George Symphony Orchestra, and holds a position of viola instructor at the MacEwan University Conservatory of Music and Mount Royal University Conservatory of Music, and adjudicates for festivals and competitions in Canada.

Vladimir Rufino
Dr. Vladimir Rufino has brought his love of music to stages in Brazil, Argentina, United States, Canada, France, Germany and Italy. He has performed in a number of prestigious concert halls including the Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Symphony Space (New York), Rolston Recital Hall (Banff), and Meridian Hall (Toronto).
Rufino holds a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Alberta (Canada), a Master of Music degree and Artist Certificate from Azusa Pacific University (USA), and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Universidade Federal da Paraíba (Brazil). He studied with Yerko Pinto Tabilo and Charles Stegeman, was a recipient of numerous scholarships, and participated in many music festivals and symposia in Brazil, Canada and United States including the Starling-Delay Symposium on Violin Studies at The Juilliard School. Vladimir was also a prizewinner at the III Concurso Nacional de Música de Câmara de Londrina. (Brazil), winning Third Prize as well as Audience's First Place.
His orchestral experience includes performances as concertmaster for the Orquestra Sinfônica Jovem da Paraíba (Brazil), Azusa Pacific University Symphony Orchestra (USA), and the University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra (Canada), assistant concertmaster for the Orquestra de Câmara da Cidade de João Pessoa (Brazil), as well as performances with the Orquestra Sinfônica da Paraíba (Brazil), Okanagan Symphony Orchestra (Canada) and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (Canada). He has also performed as a soloist with the University of Alberta Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfonica Jovem da Paraiba, and Orquestra de Camara da Cidade de Joao Pessoa. His chamber music experience includes numerous international performances as part of the Quartet Quarta Dimensão, the Camerata Brasílica (where he served as concertmaster), the Villa-Lobos String Quartet, and the Vaughan String Quartet.
Besides performing the standard classical repertoire, Vladimir has a special affinity for works by Brazilian composers. His 2017 doctoral thesis entitled Styles and Extended Techniques in 6 Works for Violin from Paraíba since 1952 included the performance and recording of works for violin by five Brazilian composers from the Brazilian state of Paraíba. Other recordings include the Quartet Quarta Dimensão’s CD Músicos e Poetas, the Camerata Brasílica’s CD Brasilêra, and the 2018 Vaughan String Quartet’s debut CD with works by Brazilians A. Carlos Gomes and H. Villa-Lobos.
As first violinist with the Vaughan String Quartet, Vladimir was an Artist in Residence at the Banff Centre on two separate occasions in 2014, recorded R. Murray Schafer’s piece Apocalypsis (released on the Analekta label in 2016), and received the City of Edmonton’s Cultural Diversity Award in 2017 which made possible the recording of the Quartet’s debut CD. Since its formation in 2013 the Vaughan String Quartet has been considered by the Edmonton Journal as “the foremost string quartet in Edmonton”.
Vladimir currently performs regularly with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Okanagan Symphony Orchestra and as first violin of the Vaughan String Quartet. Besides his performance schedule, he adjudicates for festivals and competitions in Canada and teaches violin at the MacEwan University Conservatory of Music and Mount Royal University Conservatory of Music.