Pedro Eustache

Infobox musical artist
Name = Pedro Eustache


Img_size = 200
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Born = August 18, 1959
Origin = Caracas, Venezuela
Instrument = Woodwinds
Genre = Eclectic
Occupation = Musician
Years_active = 37
Label = Gynook Poductions Inc.
URL = [http://www.pedroflute.com/ www.pedroflute.com]

Pedro Eustache (born August 18, 1959), is a creative solo flautist - "World Music" woodwinds-reeds-wind synthesizers and composer with extensive academic studies and more than 35 years of professional experience. He has more than seven years of symphonic experience and a collection of around 600 instruments from all over the world, many of which having been created, built, designed, and/or modified by himself.

Biography

Venezuelan-born Pedro Eustache is a world-class, award winning creative multi-directional musician/instrumentalist and composer. His musical language is the direct result of years of both solid studies and professional experience in the classical-European, African-American (Jazz), World Music, Popular, Folklore, and Computer/Electronic music art forms. He was initiated into music by his brother, Professor Michel Eustache, studying later in the Venezuelan National Youth Orchestra. He then graduated from the "Hector Berlioz Conservatoire" and "L'Ècole de Musique D'Asnières" in Paris, France with maestros Raymond Guiot & Pierre-Yves Artaud, respectively, with advanced studies with maestro Aurèle Nicolet in Basel, Switzerland. He also has a M.F.A. in jazz from the California Institute of the Arts, U.S., where he studied with Dr. James Newton Jr. and Amiya Dasgupta, among other masters , and extensive studies in other music cultures of the world. These include Hindustani classical music and bansuri (North Indian bamboo flute) with Pandits Ravi Shankar and Hariprasad Chaurasia (Pedro is their only Latin-American disciple); Armenian duduk with maestro Djivan Gasparyan, Persian Ney with Professor Houman Pourmehdi; Arabic Ney with maestro Nabil Abdmouleh; Australian didgeridoo with David Hudson; the Chinese Xiao (trad. Chinese bamboo flute) and Japanese Shakuhachi with the late sensei Mazakazu Yoshizawa; Tunisian Mezoued with maestro Mustapha Ben Romdhane; & more recently in Jordan, Kawala [Middle Eastern oblique folk shepherds' flute] with master Nour Dhin & classical Arabic Nay with maestro Hamsa El Faqir, respectively, among many others.

He has performed and/or recorded as a featured soloist with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, L'Orchestre Symphonique Du Bal de Vienne, Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar [principal solo flute ‘chair’ for three years] , , London Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Venezuela Symphony Orchestra [first flute chair for two years] , and the Caracas Symphonietta [founder & principal solo flute ‘chair’ for two years] , among many others.

As a studio musician, Mr. Eustache has become the first-call world-woodwinds soloist "’de facto’" for the recording studios scene in L.A., having done a large number of studio sessions for movies as a flute/woodwinds instrumentalist --- including being the main world woodwinds soloist for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" soundscore, written by John Debney.

He was the featured flute, duduk, King bansuri and piccolo soloist in the 2005 Grammy-Award winning "Concert For George" memorial concert. He won the 2007 Film & TV Music Award for "Best Instrumental Performance by a Soloist in a Film or Television Score" category for his work in Hans Zimmer's "Pirates of the Caribbean 3".

He played Middle-Eastern flutes, reeds and Armenian duduk featured in Steven Spielberg's "Munich" (nominated for both the 2006 Oscars & the 49th. Grammy Awards for 'Best Soundscore'), composed and conducted by Maestro John Williams, as well as King Kenacho & Bs. Persian Ney in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. He also soloed extensively in Middle-Eastern woodwinds & duduk with the London Symphony Orchestra in the film, "The Body". Other film soundtracks include "Kung Fu Panda", "American Gangster", "Rendition", "David & Fatima", Don't Mess with The Zohan", "Syriana", "The Village", "Blood Diamond", "King Kong", "Tropic Thunder", among other.

His world flutes and woodwinds solos are also featured with several artists, including Sir Paul McCartney with the song "Jenny Wren" (with which Sir Paul is nominated for the 49th Gramy Award as 'Best Pop Vocalist'), and a duet with in his "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" single CDs, and "Growing Up Falling Down" from his "Fine Line" single CD.

Pedro is also featured prominently in computer games' soundtracks , a multiplayer title with over 9 million subscribers worldwide (with composers Russell Brower & Derek Duke), and Sony's "Lair" (by composer John Debney).

Other recordings, tours and/or performances include jazz flautist/composer "extraordinaire" James Newton, Persian-diva Googoosh, Armenian composer/keyboardist Ara Gevorgian, Indian young luminary Anoushka Shankar, as well as in several international Christian crusades with evangelist Luis Palau, Pastor Benny Hinn & in various events with his spiritual father, Pastor Jack Hayford.

Eustache was brass section leader (tenor saxophone), for the "Inside Job" U.S. West-Coast tour for multiple Grammy-winner singer-songwriter Don Henley. He was also house band member for Edward James Olmos' "Americanos" Concert with Latin Superstars Cachao Lopez, Gloria Estefan, Paquito D'Rivera, José Feliciano, Juan Luis Guerra, Sheila E., among others, held at the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., for the "PBS Presents" series.

He has been the woodwinds featured soloist with Yanni since 1995, most recently during the 2003-2004 "Ethnicity" and 2005 "Yanni Live!" tours, and appears on several of his live music videos including "Yanni Live at Royal Albert Hall", "Tribute", and "Yanni Live! The Concert Event".

Other solo artists and/or groups include 16 years with Latin-Jazz genius Alex Acuña's band, "The Unknowns"; Indian Bajans band "Aradhna"; Paul Livingstone's Indian-Jazz-World creative band "Arohi", Jordanian super-star Zade --finishing recently a mega PBS concert-event presentation "A Night In Jordan", with the London Royal Philharmonic, and super-star soloists line-up, among many other.

He has a collection of around 600 instruments from all over the world, including winds, strings, percussion and electronic (analogue & digital) & DAW/computer-based.

As an educator, Mr. Eustache has taught Classical western flute in the Venezuelan National Youth Symphony's Conservatory, the Children's Orchestra Conservatory; Jazz flute in 1993-95 at the California Institute of the Arts, & more recently [in 2008] , in a renewed connection with his native country, 'Introduction to Music Technology', 'Improvisation for Non-Improvisers' Parts I & II & 'World Music I: Introduction to The Classical Music of North India' [extension courses] at the "Instituto Universitario de Estudios Musicales" [http://www.iudem.edu.ve/ IUDEM] , as well as flute master classes at the FESNOJIV headquarter building in Caracas, Venezuela.

He is currently working on several books, including "Introduction to Western Tonal Improvisation For the Non-Improvising Performer", "A Practical Approach to Acquiring-Developing Creative and Technical Mozartian Language in the Flute (and other instruments)”, both as part of the “"Tonal Western Classical Music Improvisation" Series; "Some of My World Woodwind Instruments", and "The Flute Book: A Holistic Approach to Flute Instruction", a major multidirectional, multidimentional & multicultural piece of encyclopedic proportions (almost 30 years on the making).

Other aspects of artistic creativity include researching, designing/modifying and building one-of-a-kind custom wind instruments (advised by flute-acousticians 'guru' Dr. John Coltman & Peter Hoekje, Ph.D.), as well as heavy involvement in applying powerful new computer-based audio digital technologies (the last two solo CD projects have been produced, recorded, arranged, engineered, and mixed by him in DAW-based systems).

By virtue of the plurality of this artistic endeavor, he holds a unique position in the international performing and recording studio scenes, being first in demand for many solo artists, producers, film & TV soundtrack composers.

Associated acts

Additional examples of artists with whom Pedro Eustache has performed/toured with and/or recorded woodwind instruments: [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:nlom962o3ep2~T4]

Discography

As a Soloist:
*"Hymns Of Yesterday & Today" (2007)
*"Global Mvission" (2004)
*"The Giant Sleeps" (1995)
*"Strive for Higher Realities" (1993)

References

*allmusicguide|11:oo320r3ac48b~T0
*imdb name|0262403
* [http://www.lianrecords.com/pgs/pedro.html Bio at Lian Records]
* [http://theworld.org/?q=node/300 Bio at BBC News, TheWorld.org]
* [http://www.serve.com/gregl7/pedro.htm# Profile at "Reflections"] an [http://www.serve.com/gregl7/reflect.htm Unofficial Yanni fan page]

External links

* [http://www.pedroflute.com/ Official site]
*myspace|pedroeustache