Pedro Eustache

Pedro Eustache (born August 18, 1959) is a Venezuelan-born multidirectional soloist flautist, reed player, world woodwind player, wind synthesist, researcher, composer, lecturer, and instrument maker with extensive academic studies and more than 40 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 designed, built and/or modified by himself.
Biography.
Education.
Venezuelan-born Eustache studied first in Venezuela under maestros Michel Eustache (his brother), Ernesto Santini, Antonio Jose Naranjo and Glenn Egner while a member of José Antonio Abreu's "Venezuelan Youth National Orchestra" (now known as "El Sistema"). Upon graduation, he received a scholarship from the Venezuelan government to study in Europe, at the "Hector Berlioz Conservatoire" and "L'Ècole de Musique d'Asnières", with Raymond Guiot & Pierre-Yves Artaud, respectively, with advanced studies with 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 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 Ravi Shankar, Pandits Hariprasad Chaurasia and Rajeev Taranath (Pedro is their only Latin-American disciple), shehnai with Pt. Rajendra Prasanna; Armenian duduk with maestro Djivan Gasparyan, Persian Ney with professor Houman Pourmehdi; classical Arabic music with maestro Riadh El Fehri and Arabic Ney with Nabil Abdmouleh; Australian didgeridoo with David Hudson; Japanese Shakuhachi with the late sensei Mazakazu Yoshizawa; Tunisian Mezoued with the late maestro Mustapha Ben Romdhane; & more recently in Jordan, Kawala [Middle Eastern oblique folk shepherds' flute] with master Nour Dhin and Arabic Nay with maestro Hamsa El Faqir, respectively, among many others.
Mr. Eustache's performances are full of tremendous uplifting synergy, which seem to contrast with the tragedy he & his wife Sara suffered years ago, when losing their three-year-old daughter—Ginette Esther—to brain cancer.
He is a devout, deeply convicted follower of Christ, and dedicates his art to “The Father of Lights”, source of all true inspiration and creativity
Premiere.
In Feb 2009 Eustache premiered his composition "Suite Concertante for World Woodwinds & Symphony Orchestra". Eustache performed on 21 solo woodwind instruments, under the baton of his fellow-countryman Gustavo Dudamel, with his "Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar", Caracas, Venezuela.
Solo concerts.
Mr. Eustache performed a "Multidirectional Flute" solo concert (using more than 20 custom world flutes/woodwind instruments, including an electric flute, plus computer DAW accompaniment) at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieure de Musique et Danse de Paris-France [CNSM. Eustache had been invited by flute soloist, Prof. Sophie Cherrier, in Dec 10th. 2015.]
He was the opening soloist of the 3rd. International Spanish Flute Convention "Gala concert", before renowned soloists Davide Formisano, Emmanuel Pahud, and flamenco soloist Jorge Pardo in Seville 2014.
Mr Eustache was a featured soloist with the wind ensemble of the Samford University, under the baton of soloist and conductor Demondrae Thurman, Birmingham Alabama, Oct. 2014.
In 2008 and 2015 gave a solo concerts at the biggest concert-hall in Beirut, Lebanon, the "Palais de L'UNESCO", under the aegis of the Mid. Eastern Bible Society [Lebanon], directed by Dr. Michel Bassous, and was one of the guests soloists invited by the Armenian government and Mr. Garik Israelian for the 6-hour long '80 years Anniversary Tribute-Concert' in honor of his duduk master, maestro Djivan Gasparyan, in Yerevan-Armenia. Both events were widely broadcast in both countries-regions, respectively. In this same year he had his 'comeback' solo concert in his native Caracas, as a soloist and guest teacher for the '2nd. Caracas International Flute Festival'. Eustache performed the C. Nielsen 'Concerto For Flute & Orchestra', conducted by the young "dynamo" Christian Vasquez and the "Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra".
He has also 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.
Film scores.
As a studio musician, Mr. Eustache has often provided solo woodwind for recording sessions in Los Angeles. He has done many 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" soundtrack, written by John Debney.
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 "".
He played Middle-Eastern flutes, reeds and Armenian duduk featured in Steven Spielberg's "Munich" (nominated for both the 2006 Oscars and the 49th Grammy Awards for 'Best Soundtrack'), composed and conducted by 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 for the film, "The Body". Other film soundtrack work includes "Kung Fu Panda", "American Gangster", "Rendition", "David & Fatima", "Body Of Lies", "Don't Mess with The Zohan", "Syriana", "The Village", "Blood Diamond", "King Kong", "Tropic Thunder", "The Tale Of Despereaux", "The Stoning Of Soraya M.", "The Mummy 3", "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", among many other.
Collaborations.
His world flutes and woodwinds solos are also featured with several artists, including Sir Paul McCartney on his song "Jenny Wren", and "Growing Up Falling Down" which appears on the single "Fine Line". For ten years he was the principal flute of Yanni Orchestra. He later performed on McCartney's 2018 album, Egypt Station. He was a featured soloist in the 2005 Grammy-award winner “Concert For George”, playing for possibly the first time ever the Armenian duduk in a traditional Indian classical music setting, alongside his teacher, the late Pandit Ravi Shankar.
He collaborated on 2014 Persian traditional music album "Beyond Any Form".
Game scores.
Pedro is also featured prominently in computer games' soundtracks World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, a multiplayer title with over 9 million subscribers worldwide (with composers Matt Uelmen, Russell Brower, and Derek Duke), and Sony's "Lair" (by composer John Debney).
Other performances.
Mr Eustache was the featured winds soloist on Ramin Djawadi's/HBO's "Game of Thrones - Live Music Experience" international tour of 2017. Featured in 15 different acoustic & electronic wind instruments—including several exclusively designed/built for this event, like the flexible didgeridoo, or the 14-foot-long "WildLing horn", or the 5+foot tall giant pan-pipes, and sound design for the Sylphyo MIDI wind controller.
In 2017 he is also the featured solo wind soloist in "Hans Zimmer Live" world tour [USA, Australia, Europe]--with the world acclaimed, iconic oscar-winning notable film music composer, performing in 16 instruments—including—besides his concert flute, Bs flute & sop. sax—three Lyricons (analog vintage wind synthesizers), as well as specially designed computer-based soft-synth sounds for the Sylphyo—MIDI wind synth controller, Armenian duduk, Venezuelan cuatro, Indian King bansuri and RaKIba, among others.
Mr. Eustache was a featured performer [South-American woodwinds, Afro-Venezuelan percussion] on Gustavo Dudamel's "Libertador" orchestral suite, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in the "Noche de Cine" concert special, July 30, 2014. "L.A.Times review of this concert"
He has been the woodwinds featured soloist with Yanni's orchestra 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".
He is the featured flute, sax & world winds soloist with Persian-pop diva Googoosh since 2000 to present.
Other recordings, tours and/or performances include jazz flautist/composer "extraordinaire" Dr. James Newton, 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 and 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.
Teaching.
As an educator, and lecturer, Eustache was invited by flute soloist professor Sophie Cherrier, to give a masterclass-conference ("The Multidirectional Flute") and a solo concert (with DAW assistance) at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieure de Musique et Danse de Paris-France [CNSM in Dec 10th. 2014.]
Invited by soloist Vicens Pratts-solo chair at the Paris Symphony, president of the National Association of Flautists of Spain, and a former co-disciple of Aurèle Nicolet - he gave lectures and masterclasses in improvisation and world music flutes at the 3rd. International Spanish Flute Convention, in Seville 2014.
In October 2014 he was an artist-in-residence at the prestigious Samford University, teaching master-classes in music fundamentals, musical aesthetics, western classical performance, jazz improvisation, and world music winds, by Dr. K. Fousse, Birmingham Alabama.
Mr Eustache has also 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" IUDEM, as well as flute master classes at the FESNOJIV headquarter building in Caracas, Venezuela.
Current.
He is involved in researching, designing/modifying and building one-of-a-kind custom wind instruments, as well as heavy involvement in applying 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).
Discography.
As a Soloist: