Artist, musician, and guitarist, Octávio Deluchi is originally from São João del-Rei, Minas Gerais, and found his musical life in Prados, surrounded by an environment deeply rooted in Brazilian cultural traditions. At 28 years old, he already delivered a vast and diverse body of work, with the concert guitar and Brazilian music at the core of his artistic practice.
Based in New York City, Deluchi has been described as “a living reality and a victorious celebration of our instrument in the world” (Humberto Amorim); “one of the greatest talents of the Brazilian guitar today” (O Tempo); and recognized as “one of the most active and brilliant soloists of his generation” (Acervo Digital do Violão Brasileiro).
His most recent recordings are being released by Kuarup (Brazil). He has arrangements and editions published by Les Productions d’Oz (Canada), Guitar Chamber Music Press (United States), and Acervo Digital do Violão Brasileiro (Brazil).
As a performer, he is recognized for his captivating and dynamic presence, in both solo and chamber settings across several countries. His solo debut at Carnegie Hall, at age 24, projected him internationally. He has won over 15 prizes in national and international competitions, including the IBLA Grand Prize, the Philadelphia International Music Festival Concerto Competition, as well as first prize at the Souza Lima Guitar Competition, the Charlottesville Guitar Competition, and the 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 the Sonata by Vicente Paschoal, dedicated to Deluchi and part of the repertoire for his Carnegie Hall debut; as well as the U.S. premiere of MadrigAfro, for guitar and orchestra, by João Luiz, performed with the São Paulo Chamber Soloists.
He has appeared in major venues and series, such as Dizzy’s Club at Lincoln Center, Composer’s Now, Americas Society/Council of the Americas, Instituto Guimarães Rosa (Santiago/Chile), BNDES, and the Odeon Guitar Series in New York. As a chamber musician, he has shared the stage with artists such as Eduardo Leandro, Arthur Haas, Emmanuele Baldini, René Izquierdo, Celil Refik Kaya, Guido Campos, Gabriele Leite, Weiting Sun, Duo Aduar, Rodrigo Frade, and Pedro Gadelha, continually expanding his artistic versatility.
In 2025, he returned to Carnegie Hall (for the Nuestros Sonidos series), and performed at the Radford International Guitar Festival, Festival de Música de Prados, AV-Rio, and Adro Galeria, also recording his program Borogodó, to be released later this year. In 2024, he launched the platform SERTÃO Americas, with the goal of addressing creative demands of various kinds and fostering new dialogues about art, culture, and music. The initiative seeks to enable new forms of professional activity and establish exchanges between practices in Brazil and the United States, including artistic programs, pedagogical initiatives, and score publications.
Active in several key artistic collectives, Deluchi was a founding member of AssoVio Vertentes, a guitar association responsible for dozens of recitals, festivals, workshops, concerts, and competitions in Minas Gerais from 2016 to 2019. He is also one of the coordinators of BCGC – Brazilian Classical Guitar Community, alongside Gabriele Leite, Nicolas Porto Silva, and Camilla Silva, connecting over seventy guitarists and researchers from different countries through audiovisual projects celebrating Brazilian composers and their guitar works. He is currently the director of the Mostra de Violão da Lira Ceciliana, which will reach its sixth edition in 2026, known for its commitment to integrating young students, local professionals, and major guitar figures in a community-centered and accessible program. Since 2018, he has also served as teacher, resident artist, and guest soloist at the Festival de Música de Prados, consolidating his presence as an active contributor to the musical and cultural development of the region. Recent festival appearances include performances of Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra by Heitor Villa-Lobos, conducted by André Bachur.
An educator and pedagogue with specialized training, Deluchi has worked in music education for thirteen years, continuously developing instrumental and technical approaches that use the guitar as a catalyst for musical learning. Since 2022, he has been a faculty member at EzraGuitar in Manhattan and Brooklyn, working both in audience development and in preparing young students for the musical field. He also teaches in the undergraduate program at Stony Brook University. Between 2019 and 2021, he served as assistant professor at Radford University, in the United States.
His artistic development has been deeply shaped by the guidance of major guitar and music figures such as Guilherme Vincens, João Luiz, Robert Trent, Paulo Martelli, Fábio Zanon, Vladmir Agostini, and Ian Guest. He completed his academic training at the Federal University of São João del-Rei (UFSJ), Radford University (RU) in Virginia, and Stony Brook University in the United States, where he is completing his Doctorate (DMA).
