Composer, conductor, pedagogue, and folklorist. Born in Argentina, he relocated to Brazil in 1949. After graduating in composition and conducting from the Faculdade Santa Marcelina in São Paulo, he continued his musical studies with Emmerich Csammer (orchestral conducting), Diogo Pacheco (choral conducting), Osvaldo Lacerda (harmony, analysis and counterpoint), and Souza Lima and Camargo Guarnieri (composition). He founded and directed several choral and orchestral groups in Brazil, as well as the Associação de Músicos e Compositores do Estado de São Paulo. In 1973-74, at the request of the Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS), he conducted a thorough investigation of the folk traditions of the Paraíba river region in São Paulo, a work that laid the foundations for important developments in his career as a professor of folklore in many schools and conservatories. He established a column for classical music at the daily newspaper Folha da Tarde (São Paulo), to which he contributed approximately 250 articles. Escalante has received several composition awards, including the João de Barro trophy as composer of the year (1969), and the Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte (APCA) award for his Symphony no. 1 as the best symphonic work of 1990. He has published extensively on Brazilian folklore and continues to play an important role in the musical life of Brazil, in his triple capacity as composer, teacher, and conductor.

Selected Works

• Cantilena, for cello and piano (1978)
• Choro a 3, for flute, clarinet, and cello (1998)
• Duo no. 7, for oboe and marimba (1988)
• Rondo a 4, for flute, clarinet, cello, and piano (1990)
• Trio, for violin, cello, and piano (1988)
• Trio no. 2, for oboe, clarinet, and bassoon (1997)
• Adagio IV, for string orchestra (1995)
• Marcha Festiva, for brass band (1995)
• Ponteio, for string orchestra (1987)
• Sertões, symphonic choral poem
• Suite on Brazilian children¹s melodies, for string orchestra (1997)
• Symphony no. 1