© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Donate
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Brazilian Twins Follow Classical Music Dream

NPR | By Julie McCarthy
Published September 14, 2006 at 6:00 AM EDT
Twins Wagner and Walter Caldas have been playing the violin for 10 years, initially at the insistence of their mother.
Julie McCarthy, NPR /
Twins Wagner and Walter Caldas have been playing the violin for 10 years, initially at the insistence of their mother.
Jonas and Homalia Caldas in his Niteroi shop, where he makes and restores classical instruments.
Julie McCarthy, NPR /
Jonas and Homalia Caldas in his Niteroi shop, where he makes and restores classical instruments.

A pair of 21-year-old twin Brazilian violinists are working their way out of poverty by playing classical music.

Wagner and Walter Caldas grew up in a poor neighborhood across the bay from Rio de Janeiro. The brothers make their American debut this week, performing with their orchestra for the Brazil Foundation in New York City.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Julie McCarthy
Julie McCarthy has spent most of career traveling the world for NPR. She's covered wars, prime ministers, presidents and paupers. But her favorite stories "are about the common man or woman doing uncommon things," she says.
See stories by Julie McCarthy

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Donate