New York - On June 9th, the trio of Brazilian mandolinist and composer Hamilton de Holanda , winner of five Latin Grammys, will take the stage at the McCarter Theatre Center on the Princeton University campus in New Jersey.
The show is part of a program that includes, the following day, the trio of American harpist Brandee Younger, the first black woman nominated for a Grammy for instrumental composition.
Behind this curation is Paula Abreu, a 44-year-old from Rio de Janeiro. Since taking on the role of music programming director at McCarter in 2022, the number of concerts by Black, Indigenous, Latino, and other ethnically and racially marginalized artists has increased significantly.
In its first season, this group's attendance at the Princeton theater was 61% — a 38% jump compared to 2019.
She also increased the participation of artists performing at McCarter for the first time to 64%, compared to a 37% increase five years earlier. Under her curatorship, McCarter hosted artists such as Patti Smith in 2023 and Caetano Veloso in 2024.
Expanding the institution's reach results in a diversification of its audience. It's no coincidence that, over the last four years, revenue from ticket sales has also increased.
“At McCarter, we have around 50 music, dance, and literature shows a year, which take place between September and June,” Paula says in an interview with NeoFeed .
“The institution’s core values are joy, justice, beauty, and belonging . All the performing arts here are linked to the diversity of artistic languages and works that spark reflection, conversation, and curiosity. I try to reflect these principles throughout the programming,” she adds.
Opened in 1930, the McCarter Theatre was designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, an architectural style typical of European and American universities of the 19th and 20th centuries. The main theatre seats one thousand people and, in 2003, the institution gained an adjacent auditorium, the Berlind Theatre, with 370 seats.
The audience comes from various cities in the region and also from New York: the theater is 10 minutes from the train station, which connects Manhattan to Princeton in about an hour and a half.
In total, the institution offers 200 shows per year, encompassing theater , music , dance , spoken literature , and educational programs. Two of its commissioned plays won the regional Tony Award and then the national award after being staged on Broadway. The theater also maintains a strong dialogue with Princeton University's Arts & Ideas program.
Paula's career in the arts is the result of a courageous change of course: with a degree in Production Engineering, she worked as a consultant for Accenture in Rio de Janeiro for almost eight years. She made a radical shift when she enrolled in a Master's program in Performing Arts Management at New York University .
After that, she worked in New York for over a decade, dedicating herself to the non-profit cultural sector, such as the Red Hot Organization, Lincoln Center, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, and SummerStage, a festival held annually in Central Park and other city parks – considered one of the most important attractions of the New York summer.
At SummerStage, in 2019, she spearheaded the festival's commitment to gender parity, making it one of the first in the Americas to consistently maintain a 50% balance of female and 50% male artists in its lineup.
Paula was also responsible for bringing names like Ney Matogrosso, Elza Soares , Alceu Valença, Lenine, Dom Salvador, Roberta Sá, Xênia França, Monobloco, Nação Zumbi, BaianaSystem, and Hamilton de Holanda to the stage.
“For years, I participated in conferences, festivals, and professional trips throughout Africa , Asia , Europe , and Latin America , building an international network of relationships and artistic references,” says Paula. “I believe the McCarter Theatre team saw me as someone who could add this global aspect to the programming.”
The invitation prompted her to leave Brooklyn, New York, and move to Princeton with her husband and young daughter. Her second daughter was born at their new address. She explains that, despite Princeton being a small city with 32,000 inhabitants, the state of New Jersey is culturally diverse, with a population very much aligned with the New York profile.
“Many people seek out the region in search of a more tranquil life, but they maintain sophisticated cultural expectations and an interest in high-level artistic programming,” says Paula.
As a curator seeking new references, she emphasizes that it is essential to attend various shows in person.
“Although I can’t see all 50 shows before hiring them, I try to attend performances in New York and other cultural centers, as well as talk to fellow curators and analyze reviews and video recordings,” she says, adding that she has started bringing dance companies, such as Pilobolus, and children’s performances to perform at McCarter.
Furthermore, attending performances in person makes a difference, including in negotiations with agents and artists. Having planned opinions about the performance demonstrates genuine engagement with the artistic work and strengthens the professional relationship.
"For example, in the case of a dance performance, I might ask that, at McCarter, the group only perform certain numbers and not others. Building long-term relationships with artists is a central part of the work," says Paula.
She recounts Caetano's show at the McCarter two years ago: during his US tour, he performed in theaters with over two thousand seats, but he made room in his schedule for the McCarter audience, a smaller theater compared to the others.
"This show was the result of years of professional relationship and trust built during the SummerStage era and previous collaborations with his team."
