SERTÃO  AMERICAS

Artist, musician, guitarist, arranger, educator, and producer, Octávio Deluchi is recognized as one of the leading figures of his generation. Born in the historic region of Minas Gerais, he began his musical journey in Prados before settling in New York, United States. Throughout his career, Deluchi has developed artistic and research projects that explore Brazilian culture through various initiatives, fostering collaborations with artists from different media.

 

As a producer, he has an extensive history of collaborations and work with innovative groups and projects. In 2024, he launched the SERTÃO Americas platform with the aim of promoting and fostering new dialogues on art, culture, and music. Currently, the platform includes several programs and activities in Brazil and the United States, including the Jacarandá project, which seeks to create an integrated system of artistic and musical education through collective guitar classes in the Campo das Vertentes region.

 

Deluchi is also a founding member of the Associação de Violão das Vertentes – AssoVio Vertentes, which carries out numerous actions and initiatives aimed at the professionalization, dissemination, and promotion of classical guitar and Brazilian guitar. Since 2016, AssoVio Vertentes has organized events and festivals in various cities across the state of Minas Gerais, such as the Circuito de Violão das Vertentes and the Concurso Nacional de Violão AssoVio Vertentes. Octávio was also the coordinator of BCGC (Brazilian Classical Guitar Community), an online artistic research platform with the participation of over 80 professionals from different countries, focused on preserving the Brazilian guitar repertoire. Since 2018, he has been a professor, artist, and guest soloist at the Festival de Música de Prados.

 

As a performer, he is known for his captivating and dynamic presence, both as a soloist and chamber musician, across multiple countries. His international breakthrough came with his solo debut at Carnegie Hall at the age of 24. Since then, he has won more than 15 national and international awards, including the IBLA Grand Prize, the Philadelphia International Music Festival Concerto Competition, as well as first prizes at the Souza Lima Guitar Competition, Charlottesville Guitar Competition, and Musicalis National Guitar Competition. He has collaborated with or premiered works by composers such as Sérgio Assad, Tania León, Vicente Paschoal, João Luiz, Luís Carlos Barbieri, Terrence Shepherd, Elodie Bouny, Geraldo Vespar, Megan Deslinger, and Mary Simmons. Notable works include Vicente Paschoal’s Sonata, dedicated to Deluchi, and the U.S. premiere of João Luiz’s guitar and orchestra concerto MadrigAfro.

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He has performed in prestigious venues and series, including Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center, Composer’s Now, Americas Society/Council of the Americas, Instituto Guimarães Rosa (Santiago, Chile), BNDES, and Odeon Guitar Series in New York. As a chamber musician, he has shared stages and recordings with artists such as Eduardo Leandro, Arthur Haas, Emmanuele Baldini, São Paulo Chamber Soloists, René Izquierdo, Celil Refik Kaya, Guido Campos, Gabriele Leite, Weiting Sun, Duo Aduar, Rodrigo Frade, and Pedro Gadelha, continually expanding his artistic versatility.

 

His artistic development has been shaped by prominent musicians such as Guilherme Vincens, João Luiz, Robert Trent, Paulo Martelli, Fábio Zanon, Vladmir Agostini, and Ian Guest. He has studied at several institutions throughout his academic journey, including the Federal University of São João del-Rei (UFSJ–MG, Brazil), Radford University (VA, USA), and Stony Brook University (NY, USA).

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Octávio's upcoming works will include the book Chiquinha Gonzaga: Guitar Arrangements by Editions d'Oz (Canada), and a record named Borogodó, released by Brazil's historic music label Kuarup.