Jules Vandystadt

I’m Claudio Botelho, brazilian musical theater entrepreneur, founder and CEO of MöellerBotelho Productions. For the past 25 years me and my partner Charles Möeller have staged more than 40 shows, including many broadway hits such as Hair, Pippin and The Sound of Music. We’re credited with the reinvention of brazilian musical theater.

I'm writing this recommendation letter for one of the most admirable professionals in Brazilian musical theatre. And I do so in a very wholehearted way, since Jules is not only a top-quality professional but also a great person.

Jules first ever job in musical theatre was in one of my plays almost 13 years ago. He did an audition as an actor for a part in this play called 7 - O Musical, and his singing abilities impressed me quite a lot. He got the part and as soon as we started working together I noticed that his talents reached far beyond his vocal quality - he was a very accomplished musician too. Two weeks into rehearsals he asked to show me the vocal arrangements he had taken the liberty of writing for the ensemble, which had been previously taught and rehearsed by him. The result was so good that I allowed him to write all the vocal arrangements for the whole show, which granted him a position in the creative team as well as in the cast.

My very next play was Beatles Num Céu de Diamantes (which in France was renamed to "In The Sky With Diamonds") - a very bold attempt of ours to create a small show featuring a theatrical view on the Beatles repertoire. This time I hired Jules not only for the cast, but also as the oficial vocal arranger. He would be working with Délia Fischer, who wrote all the orchestrations (and whose last album has recently been nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards 2019). Jules and Delia’s work ended up being awarded the "Shell Awards", Brazil's most iconic theatre award. That young man had already proven his immense talent and sensibility in his second professional play. "Beatles Num Céu de Diamantes" is Brazil's longest-running musical play, a phenomenal success to the present day. I can assure that a great part of this is the result of Jules' work. He's changed the script, created new acts, done new arrangements and orchestrations and the play keeps getting better. He's the heart and soul of it.

Over the past 13 years we have worked together many times, and Jules has always delivered brilliant performances and arrangements. His arrangements for "Milton Nascimento - Nada Será Como Antes" and "Todos os musicais de Chico Buarque em 90 Minutos" are true masterpieces, and were personally acclaimed by Milton Nascimento and Chico Buarque themselves - two of Brazil's greatest composers of all time. He's brought many theatre awards to my company too, and I can assure that if Jules is in the creative team, it's almost certain that the musical work is going to be award-winning.

When he's in charge I don't have to worry in the slightest, because I know he's handling things smoothly and competently. If I provide him with an idea, he'll turn up the next day with the arrangement written in sheet music, copies to everyone. And if I arrive after the start of the activities he'll have already rehearsed and will be ready to show me what he got - which usually is exactly what I had in mind, or surprisingly even better. He's got a natural talent for grasping what you ask and improving it a great deal. It's not uncommon for me to be driven into tears by the sheer beauty of his work. I think that his greatest talent might be just that - Jules has the ability to reach directly into people's hearts through his music

We last worked together in "Pippin", and since we would have Stephen Schwartz himself working with us I knew immediately that Jules would be the right person to call. His english is flawless and "Pippin" is one of my personal favorites. And again he did an impressive job, earning us and himself yet another musical theatre award. Jules is one of those professionals that holds an assurance of excellence, make no mistake about that. He perfects and improves whatever he lays his hands on. There's a very humane quality to his creations, he connects to people in a very subjective way. He crafts his music in that very same way.

In short, if you're looking for someone who will be outstanding in every possible way, Jules is that person.

Cláudio Botelho
CEO at Möeller Botelho

I am the Oscar, Grammy and Tony Award winning composer and lyricist of such Broadway shows as GODSPELL, PIPPIN, and the currently running WICKED, and of such motion pictures as POCAHONTAS, ENCHANTED, and THE PRINCE OF EGYPT.
I am happy to provide this letter of recommendation for Jules Vandystadt in support of his application for the Obama Foundation Scholars International Program. Jules was the music director for the recent Brazilian production of my show PIPPIN, and I had the chance to work with him and the cast in São Paulo in the week leading up to opening night.
Jules is a gifted and passionate musician. I was particularly impressed with his creative and meticulous work with the cast and orchestra. This production of PIPPIN featured a reduced orchestra, which required adaptations to the scoreand in one or two cases, new orchestrations, and Jules came up with imaginative and effective solutions. He dealt with the necessary changes and adaptations quickly and in a very organized way. His leadership, his excellent character and his perfect English, would be an asset to any production here in the United States.
I would be delighted to work with him again and to recommend him as a music director. I recommend him for the Obama Foundation Scholars application without reservation.
Sincerely,
Stephen Schwartz

I am the Oscar, Grammy and Tony Award winning composer and lyricist of such Broadway shows as GODSPELL, PIPPIN, and the currently running WICKED, and of such motion pictures as POCAHONTAS, ENCHANTED, and THE PRINCE OF EGYPT.
I am happy to provide this letter of recommendation for Jules Vandystadt in support of his application for the Obama Foundation Scholars International Program. Jules was the music director for the recent Brazilian production of my show PIPPIN, and I had the chance to work with him and the cast in São Paulo in the week leading up to opening night.
Jules is a gifted and passionate musician. I was particularly impressed with his creative and meticulous work with the cast and orchestra. This production of PIPPIN featured a reduced orchestra, which required adaptations to the scoreand in one or two cases, new orchestrations, and Jules came up with imaginative and effective solutions. He dealt with the necessary changes and adaptations quickly and in a very organized way. His leadership, his excellent character and his perfect English, would be an asset to any production here in the United States.
I would be delighted to work with him again and to recommend him as a music director. I recommend him for the Obama Foundation Scholars application without reservation.
Sincerely,