Samba New York! is a leading organization in NYC dedicated to Brazilian samba culture, offering shows, drumming classes, and guided music trips to Brazil. The Estado de São Paulo, one of Brazil’s most prominent newspapers, recently praised Samba New York! as “the most famous and active ‘school of samba’ in New York City.”

Inspired by the famous escola de samba parade associations of Rio de Janeiro, Samba New York’s professional Show Group brings the exhilaration and rich traditions of Brazilian Carnaval to events of all kinds, public and private. The group has been featured on Brazil’s most widely viewed nightly news program (TV Globo’s O Jornal Nacional) as well as on the Dr. Oz Show (Fox) and CBS Early Show in the US.

Samba New York’s performance credits comprise some of the New York area’s most prestigious venues, including Central Park SummerStage, the Best Buy Theater in Times Square (opening for the famous Brazilian band, Skank), Joe’s Pub, Brooklyn Museum, and Sounds of Brazil. The group has become a mainstay at the famous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade (serving as the head band twice), while also helping to make the success of such local events as “Samba with the Sea Lions” at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Zoo and the popular Fire On the Water Brazilian boat cruise along the Hudson River.

Samba New York’s clients include Kraft Foods, Pepsi Co., Starbucks, Bloomberg, Carnegie Hall, Macy’s, NIKE, and the State Secretaries of Tourism of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Amazonas States in Brazil, among many others.

Our percussion courses taught by Samba New York’s founder and Director, Philip Galinsky, Ph.D., provide exceptional training in the art of Rio de Janeiro style samba drumming. These classes are the means by which students of all levels can join our community of samba enthusiasts and eventually perform with our Bateria (Drum Section).

But Samba New York! doesn’t stop there! We also offer a cultural immersion trip to Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval, guided by Philip Galinsky, who has 20 years of experience as an ethnomusicologist and percussionist in Brazil.