The tour, which includes venues in New York, North Carolina and Florida as well as the Music Center at Strathmore near Washington, D.C., will highlight South American music by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Mozart Camargo Guarnieri and Armando Manzanero, among others. The programs will also include repertoire staples such as Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 and Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2.

The Orquestra Sinfêänica do Estado de Sê£o Paulo (OSESP), based in Brazil's largest city, was founded in 1954. The orchestra has a 20-CD recording deal with BIS Records; it has thus far recorded the complete symphonic repertoire of Camargo Guarnieri, Francisco Braga's opera Jupyra and compositions by Villa-Lobos, Francisco Mignone and Claudio Santoro.

Neschling, the grand-nephew of Arnold Schoenberg, took up his post in Brazil in 1997, after a stint as principal conductor of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. He has also been chief conductor of the Orchestre National Bordeaux-Aquitaine and the Teatro Sê£o Carlos in Lisbon. He made his U.S. opera debut in 1997 at the Washington Opera, conducting Il Guarany by Brazilian composer Antêänio Carlos Gomes with Plšcido Domingo in the title role.

Antonio Meneses, a native of Recife in northeastern Brazil, has collaborated with conductors including Herbert von Karajan, Riccardo Muti, Mariss Jansons, Claudio Abbado and Andr_ Previn; he is also a longstanding member of the Beaux Arts Trio. Earlier this year, he toured the U.S. with pianist Menahem Pressler in a duo program of Beethoven cello sonatas. His recordings include Brahms's Double Concerto for Violin and Cello on Deutsche Grammophon with Herbert von Karajan, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter.