Tim studied musical theory and piano at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) from 1976 to 1978, while also studying at the Villa-Lobos School of Music.
In 1979, also at the Villa-Lobos School of Music, he studied counterpart and arranging with Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, with whom he went on to study composition through 1983. That same year he received his Bachelor’s Degree and Teaching Certificate from the University of Rio de Janeiro (UNI-RIO). In 1979, he won first prize in the Composition Competition, sponsored by the Villa-Lobos School of Music and OSB (the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra).
In 1983 his music for the plays, Willand A Porta(The Door), earned him a Mambembe Award. He has taken part in various festivals of contemporary music both in Brazil and abroad, most notably the Festival Sonidos de las Amerícas Brasil, which was held in April 1996 in New York. During the festival, Tim presented two of his works at Carnegie Hall’s, Weill Recital Hall.
In 1993, he received another Mambembe, this time for the book of Pianíssimo. This children’s musical was staged in Belo Horizonte that same year, earning him a Sated Award.
In 1995, Tim was awarded a Rio-Arte grant to write a children’s opera. The result – A Orquestra dos Sonhos(The Dream Orchestra) – was staged at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil. It was the first children’s opera to be released in CD format in Brazil, inaugurating the Pianíssimo label. His children’s musical,Papagueno, received the 1997 Mambembe Award for best book and the Coca-Cola Award for best music. Also in 1997, he won two of the five Mambembe trophies presented to the year’s best shows, for Papagueno andA Orquestra dos Sonhos. The latter also earned him a Golfinho de Ouro Award, given by the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Between 1997 and 2000, Tim hosted the Concertos para a Juventude, a series of young people’s concerts, held at the Teatro Carlos Gomes, Rio de Janeiro.
Tim’s “street” opera, O Homem que Sabia Português(The man who knew how to speak Portuguese), for which he wrote both the music and libretto, premiered in 1998. It was awarded two Sesc/Sated Awards (Belo Horizonte), one for best book and the other for best music and in 1999 earned the Shell Award (Rio de Janeiro) for best music. Tim’s opera to his own libretto, A Redenção pelo Sonho(Redemption through Dreaming), debuted at Sesc Ipiranga in São Paulo. Commissioned by Sesc, the opera is about the life and works of Monteiro Lobato.
In 1999, he received a Bolsa Vitae grant to write, Brincando de Orquestra (Playing Orchestra), an educational play for children.
In 2001, he again won a Shell Award for his music for the play, Um Trêm Chamado Desejo (A Train Named Desire), staged by Belo Horizonte’s, Grupo Galpão.
Translated and directed by Tania Costa, Pianíssimobecame the first children’s play ever to be presented at the Comédie Française in Paris since its foundation. Ms. Costa also staged Papagueno, which toured a number of cities in France in 2002 and 2003. That same year, Tim wrote another children’s opera, O Cavalinho Azul (The Little Blue Horse), with a libretto based on the homonymous play by Maria Clara Machado. It was performed at the Tablado Theater in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2002, together with Arrigo Barnabé and Guto Lacaz, he wrote and staged the opera, 22 Antes Depois(22 Before After), at Ipiranga Sesc in São Paulo, in commemoration of the eightieth anniversary of Brazil’s 1922 Semana de Arte Moderna (Modern Art Week). In November of the same year, his CD, Romance Policial (Crime Story), containing seven theater pieces, came out on the Pianíssimo label. The first release by the Quinteto Tim Rescala, Desritmificações, was released in 2003 on the same label. Another Pianíssimo title–Contos, cantos e acalantos(Stories, songs, and lullabies)–earned José Mauro Brant and Tim Rescala the 2002 TIM Award for Best Children’s CD.
In 2004, Tim wrote both lyrics and music for the children’s musical, A Turma do Pererê (The Pererê Gang), based on a book by Ziraldo.Met by both public and critical acclaim, the play was also recorded on CD that same year by the Pianíssimo label.
In 2004 and 2005, he composed the music for TV Globo’s mini-series, Hoje é dia de Maria, by Luiz Fernando Carvalho; Som Livre released the CD.
In 2005, Tim became director of Rio de Janeiro’s Sala Baden Powell and also created and directed Sesc’s Multimúsica series, comprising fourteen educational concerts performed by 48 artists at theaters on the impoverished outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.
In 2006, Tim did the music for TV Globo’s children’s program, Sítio do Picapau Amarelo. The soundtrack came out on the Som Livre label. He was responsible for general direction of the Multimúsica project for the second year in a row.
In 2007, as part of the Bem me quer Paquetá project he wrote the musical, A moreninha, based on the homonymous novel by Joaquim Manoel de Macedo. That same year, he composed the music for the animated film, Histórias da unha do dedão do pé do fim do mundo (Storiesof the big toenailfrom theends of the earth) by Evandro Salles and Marcia Roth, made especially for the exhibit, Arte para Crianças (Art for Children). He created and directed the audio-visual performance, Fuga a sete vozes no labirinto de Escher e Borges(Seven-voice fugue in the labyrinth of Escher and Borges), for Rio’s Oi Futuro project. He took part in founding the Brazilian Association of Composers of Music for Audiovisuals, known as Musimagem Brasil.
In 2008, he did the music for a new film, Sobre dois quadrados (About two squares), which was part of a re-edition of the Arte para Crianças exhibit. His opera, A Redenção pelo Sonho, was restaged to great success at the Palácio das Artes in Belo Horizonte and at the Teatro Nelson Rodrigues in Rio de Janeiro. He composed the music for the mini-series, Capitu, by Luiz Fernando Carvalho; the soundtrack was released by Som Livre.
In 2009, he worked as an actor, scriptwriter, and musical producer for the Globo-sponsored telethon, Criança Esperança(Children’s Hope). He wrote the script and provided both musical and general direction for the children’s show, Une, Dune, Pde Poesia(One, Two, P for Poetry), for Sesc Pompéia, São Paulo. He directed two concerts by the Federal Fluminense University’s National Symphony Orchestra: Música brasileira para cinema e televisão(Brazilian music for film and television) and Brincando de Orquestra. He created and directed the second edition of the Multimúsica project, which included five educational shows about classical music, performed at Sesi schools under the sponsorship of Firjan. In commemoration of Brazil’s National Culture Day, and also under commission to Firjan, he created an installation called the Chronological Piano, where each keystroke shows a bit of the history of Brazilian music. He wrote, Suprematism: 34 drawings, the music for the third and final animated film of the Arte para Crianças exhibit. He was both musical director and pianist for Stella Miranda’s show,Miranda por Miranda, presented at Sesc Ginástico, Rio de Janeiro, for which he received a Shell Award.
In 2010, he did the music for the show, O Sonho do Cowboy(The Cowboy’s Dream), created and directed by Maicon Clenk for the Beto Carrero World amusement park. He composed the original music for the mini-series, Afinal, o que querem as mulheres?(What do women want, anyway?), by Luiz Fernando Carvalho, which came out in both DVD and CD on the Som Livre label. Commissioned by Funarte, Brazil’s National Foundation for the Arts, he composed the piece, “Sete Vezes” (Seven times), for wind quintet, string quartet, and piano, to premiere at the 2011 Biennial of Contemporary Brazilian Music. He did the music for Maria Camargo’s documentary short film, Se meu pai fosse de pedra (If my father were made of stone), about the sculptor Sérgio Camargo.
In 2011, he created and presented, Blim-Blem-Blom, a weekly children’s program of classical music, broadcast by Rio de Janeiro’s educational radio station, MEC FM. He composed an orchestral suite by the same name, featured as both opening and incidental music for the program. He did the incidental music for the exhibit, O Que É Preciso Para Voar(What’s Needed to Fly), by Brígida Baltar, as part of Rio’s, Oi Futuro project.
In 2012, he was awarded a grant from FAM (the Fund for Musical Support) of Rio de Janeiro's Municipal Bureau of Culture to record a DVD of the piece, Brincando de Orquestra (Playing Orchestra), with the Orquestra Petrobrás Sinfônica.. His composition, Quarteto Circular,included on the CD, “Na Cadência do Silêncio” (released in 2011), was nominated for a Latin Grammy in the BEST CLASSICAL CONTEMPORARY COMPOSITION category. His piece, Desdobrado, for brass quintet, was chosen by the public at the Bienal de Música Brasileira Contemporânea as one of the best presented. He wrote the piece, Melodia partida em três, for oboe, bassoon and piano and dedicated it to the trio, Solter-Justi-Fagerlande, who recorded it on CD.
In 2013, he received the APTR 2012 Award in the Best Music category for his work on the play, uma vez Grimm(once upon a Grimm). He participated in the project “Ano do Brasil em Portugal” (The year of Brazil in Portugal) from FUNARTE with the show, “Miranda por Miranda” with Stella Miranda. He wrote the music for the documentary film, “À queima roupa”,by Thereza Jessourum, which won the Film Festival award of Rio de Janeiro. He wrote music for the TV Globo special, Alexandre e outros heróis, directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho, nominated for an Emmy Award. Commissioned by the Ciclo de Ópera Contemporêna de Buenos Aires, he wrote the music and libretto for his opera, “O Perigo da arte”, presented the following year at the Sala Cecilia Meireles in Rio de Janeiro and chosen by the O Globo newspaper as one of the 10 best concerts of the year.
In 2014 he composed the original music for the telanovela, “Meu pedacinho de Chão” by Luiz Fernando Carvalho, released on CD by Som Livre. He received a grant from FAM (Support Fund for Music) of the Municipal Secretary of Culture of Rio de Janeiro to build the site for the continuation of the project, “Brincando de Orquestra”. He received Honorable Mention in the category "program for kids" of the 10th International Radio Biennial in Mexico for his radio show, “Blim-Blem-Blom”(broadcast by Radio MEC FM Rio de Janeiro since 2011). He wrote the music for the play, “O pequeno Zacarias”, written and directed by José Mauro Brant, based on the Tales of Hoffmann, again receiving the APTR 2014 award for best music.
In 2015 Tim wrote the lyrics and composed the music for the children’s play“A feira de maravilhas do Barão de Munchausen”,forPequod. (Baronof Munchausen wonderland). He wrote the play"Os devaneios de um entediado Ernesto Nazareth ao tocar num despovoado cinema Odeon".(“The daydreams of a bored Ernesto Nazareth) playing in a village’s Odeon cinema"), for the pianist Alexandre Dias. He composed “Dodedafunk", premiered at the Villa-Lobos Festival.He Composed the music "Mi querido bandoneon” (my dear recordedbandoneon)by Soraya Ravanle and the band Libertando, to celebrate the 100 years of Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, He released the CD "Sete vezes" (“seven times”) in a concert at the Sesi theatre, presenting all the works of the album Sete Vezes (seven times): Seven times, Threefold melody, Desdobrado, Nocturne after wine,Convulsive crying and Entry.
In 2016 He wrote the music and libretto of the children’s play "O boi e o burro caminho de Belém", (The ox’s and the donkey’s way to Belem), which is about Maria Clara Machado works, for the municipal theatre. However, the rehearsals were interrupted because of the Theatre's financial crisis and the opera was not staged, remaining unpublished until today. He did the original music and musical production of the soap opera“Velho Chico”, by Benedito Ruy Barbosa, Edmara Barbosa e Bruno Luperi, for Globo TV, directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho. He also did the original music and musical production of Maria Camargo’s miniseries “Dois irmãos", (Two brothers) based on Milton Hatoum’s book for globoTV directed by Luis Fernando Carvalho.
In 2017 he composed the music and was the musical director for the play ‘Makuru”, with the lyrics written and directed by José Mauro Brant in which he received the prizes Zilka Salaberry and CBTIJ for the best music. He composed the original music including songs and symphonic music, for the film "Pluft", directed by Rosane Svartman to be released in 2020. He wrote the song for the play "Lifting", by Felix Sabroso and directed by César Augusto. He wrote the lyrics for the show "Cadê Tuhu?" forthe Tuhu Brazil series of didactic concerts. He wrote the play "Verbete 2: clarinet", for solo clarinet
In 2018 Wrote the music for the play "O pequeno príncipe” ”The little Prince”- concert for narrator and orchestra ",by Saint-Exupery for Ouro preto orchestra, with the lyrics adapted by the conductor Rodrigo Toffolo, released on record in Brazil narrated by Tim Rescala and abroad, by Naxos, narrated by Michael Wade. He wrote and directed the music for the play "Thomas e as mil e uma invenções", (“Thomas and the thousand and one inventions") by Vanessa Dantas for which he received the CBTIJ award for best music.
In 2019 he wrote the play “A banda de pífaros do Rei Arthur"(“king`s Arthur`s fife band”) for quartet of recorders, dedicated to the Quartet Quinta Essentia. He composed music for three rooms of the exhibition "Pratodomundo", for the Museum of tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro. He wrote the script, songs and musical direction for the show Homo Tapiens, for Orqustra Brasileira de Sapateado, sharing the general direction with Stella Antunes and Amália Machado. He wrote the play "Mirror", dedicated to the Duo Santoro of cello.
In 2020 he wrote text and music for the musical Pinocchio, by Cia Pequod, to be presented at the CCBB in four cities in 2021. He wrote the music for the attraction Hot Wheels, at Parque Beto Carrero World. Together with Ricardo Feghali, he produced the benefit program Um abraço in Beirut for TV Cultura, also making arrangements for the Beirut Symphony Orchestra. At the request of the Art Project of Everybody, from UFRJ-Funarte, he wrote Three stories of grandpa, for children's choir. By order of the WASBE-World Association for Symphonic Bands, he wrote the piece Ennio, for symphonic band.
In 2021, he wrote music and libretto for the opera The engineer, commissioned by Projeto Sinos, a collaboration between UFRJ and Funarte, which premiered, with great success, on October 17 at Theatro São Pedro, in Porto Alegre, under the direction of Evandro Matté. It will be assembled in Rio de Janeiro in 2022 at UFRJ. He made music for two exhibitions at the Museum of Tomorrow, in Rio de Janeiro: Urban Futures and Amazon Fruit-Times. He premiered the piece Parescências, for viola and piano, at the Bienal de Música Brasileira Contemporânea, at Sala Cecília Meireles, Rio de Janeiro. He wrote the scenic cantata for children's choir, ballet and orchestra Fernão Capelo Gaivota (Jonathan Livingston Seagull) for the Ouro Preto Orchestra, conducted and adapted by Rodrigo Toffolo.
In 2022, he presented the musical Pinóquio for Cia Pequod at the CCBB in Rio, in BH, SP and Brasília, for which he wrote music and text. In the same year, he premiered two more operas: O boi e o burro no caminho de Belém, also at the UFRJ School of Music and at the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, and O auto da Compadecida, composed by order of the Ouro Preto Orchestra and presented at the Teatro Alpha, in SP, at Cidade das Artes, in RJ, and at Palácio das Artes, in Belo Horizonte. He composed the music for the miniserie Independências, for TV Cultura, directed by Luiz Fernando Carvalho. On December 3, he conducted the Orquestra Sinfônica Nacional - UFF in concert with his works at Sala Cecília Meireles, RJ, celebrating its 60th anniversary, as well as the orchestra's 45th anniversary. Assumed seat 29 of the recent Liban Brazilian Academy of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
In 2023, he released the album Parescências (Seemtobenesses) on digital platforms, in concert at Sala Cecília Meireles, with recent chamber works: Parescências, A Banda de Pifaros do Rei Arthur , Dá-lhe, Garoto!, Villalobianas alemãs, Os devaneios de um entediado Ernesto Nazareth playing in a depopulated Odeon cinema and Dodecafunk. He wrote the music and co-authored, with Tércio Silva and Thais Vasconcelos, the text of the musical Pedro e Paula no Natal, commissioned by Teatro Amazonas, with no premiere scheduled yet. He wrote the piece Prokofonia, for symphony orchestra, commissioned by Sala Cecília Meireles, premiered by OSB, conducted by Ligia Amadio. He wrote the piece When Glenn Miller and his orchestra went further, for tenor trombone and orchestra, still unpublished. He wrote the play Let's play music, for children's choir, dedicated to the UFRJ Children's Choir. He composed the music for the feature-length documentary Agudás, by Aída Marques. He took over chair 34 at the Brazilian Academy of Music, previously held by Edino Krieger.
